Tessa and Jess
by AdelaideLondyn210
Summary: Hey! This is a story I have been working on for a few months. I will probably finish soon! AdelaideLondyn


Tessa Frayne was thrashing about in her chair. Securing her to the chair, were several large chains. Her hands were chained behind her back and around the back of the chair, and her legs were chained to the legs of the chair, and she was screaming. She remembered how she had stepped off of the boat that had left her in Paris, and bumping into someone on her way off of the boat, and then her memories gave way to darkness. I must have passed out, she thought. As she kept struggling in the chair, in the dark room, she heard a voice speak. "I wouldn't try, if I were you." It said. As a face stepped out into the light of the single, moonlit window, Tessa let out a gasp. "Oh, god." She grasped for words. "Luke." She whispered.

He was exactly as she remembered. Ink Black hair, Green eyes flecked with Gold, tanned skin. He was more muscular than before, she noted. He was also taller. "What the hell, Luke! Unchain me!" she cried. "I cannot do that, Tessamine." He said quietly. Before Tessa could speak, a voice boomed in the shadows. "Thank you, Luke. You bought her as I asked." The voice said. "What the hell is going on here? Luke?" Tessa shouted. "You may go now, Luke." The voice said now. It sounded closer. As soon as Luke had left the room, a face stepped into the moonlight. The man had Slivery-White hair, pale skin, and a very pointed face. "Who the hell are you?" Tessa cried. "How do you know me? What do you want? Why-"the man held up his hand, signalling for silence. Tessa ceased her questions. "My name is Samuel Silvertongue." "And?" she asked. "Do you-"before Samuel could finish his sentence, there was a loud yell from downstairs. Samuel's face darkened. He turned on his heels and ran for the door. "Great. Just great." Tessa said aloud to herself. A few minutes later, the door burst open. Behind its threshold stood a boy, around 16, the same age as Tessa. His eyes widened. "Dan, come up here." He called downstairs, before walking into the room and beginning to unchain Tessa. "Who did this to you?" he asked in a low voice. "Someone named Samuel Silvertongue." She answered, surprized. Just as the boy snapped the last chain, another boy came into the room. He stood at the door, a perplexed look on his face. As Tessa tried to walk to the door, her knees buckled underneath her, and she slid to the floor. The first boy slid one arm under her knees and one arm underneath her arms, and as if she were a delicate porcelain doll, he picked her up and carried her to the door and down the stairs. Just as they reached the first floor, a giant thing lumbered up to them. The boy gently dropped Tessa. "Run!" Shouted the boy, as the other boy sliced a dagger through the thing, and created a long cut. The thing took no notice. It moved toward Tessa, who was now hunched up against a wall atop a pile of burlap sacks. Just as the thing went to grab her, Tessa ripped her Jade necklace from her neck and bashed it against the thing's head. The necklace glowed an iridescent white before the thing vanished, and sifted away to ashes. Tessa looked at the pile of ashes through widened eyes, before re-fastening the pendant around her neck. The two boys looked at the thing too, before looking at Tessa. Tessa again tried to stand, but again slid to the floor. The first boy picked her up again, and they ran from the house until they could no longer see it. Once they slowed down, the boy holding Tessa gently laid her down, so she was sitting up, supporting her back against an oak tree. They were at the bottom of a hill, and Tessa could faintly see a city in the distance. "Are you alright?" the first boy asked her. "Y-yes. I-I think so." Tessa answered. "Hey, who are you?" Tessa asked. "I'm Jess. He's Dan." The first boy, Jess answered. "Where did you get this?" Dan asked. "It was my mothers. She gave it to me to look after shortly before she died." Tessa answered. Shortly afterward, Tessa could hear voices calling for Jess and Dan. Dan went up to the top of the hill and called something out, before re-joining Jess and Tessa. Soon, a group of people came to a halt at the top of the hill, mouths agape. They were staring at Tessa. Then they raced down the hill and came to a stop by Tessa. A few crowded around her, while the rest went over to Dan, who was still holding Tessa's pendant. One girl, with sandy blonde hair, knelt down by Tessa. "Are you okay? What happened?" she asked, her eyes filling with concern as she saw Tessa's wounds from being beaten by Silvertongue before she regained consciousness. "I-"Tessa stared helplessly at Jess, to try to explain what had happened. While Jess explained, Tessa realised she felt exhausted. Soon, the darkness enveloped her, and she was unaware of the concerned faces staring down at her.

"Is she alright?" a voice asked. "Fine. She fainted from exhaustion, I think. She will wake soon" a second voice replied. "Oh, thank goodness." The first voice answered, before it once again became silent.

Tessa fluttered her eyes open. She was still in her now grass-stained, white, satin-and-gauze dress, but was now lying on a crisp white bed, in what looked like a hospital room. "Take it easy." A voice said. "We don't want you fainting again." Jess stepped out of the doorway. Tessa blushed. Habitually, she reached for her jade pendant. It wasn't there. She wildly looked around her. "Where's my pendant?" Tessa's voice rose a few octaves. "Right here." Jess replied, as he pressed the pendant into her palm. As she re-fastened it, Jess asked "Who are you, anyway?" "Tessa. Tessamine Frayne." She answered. "Are you able to walk, Tessamine?" Jess asked. Tessa shot Jess an exasperated look. "I've no idea!" she said. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. After taking a few steps, she nodded at Jess. He led her out of the room and into a hallway. He stopped outside a large wooden door. He winked at her, before pushing open the door. Behind the doors stood the most magnificent library Tessa has ever seen. Jess laughed at the sight of her face. "What?" she mock-scowled at Jess. Jess just laughed harder. "Tessamine?" a voice called out from somewhere within the library. She tensed. A woman with long, black hair stepped out from behind a bookcase. She crooked a finger at Tessa. With a glance at Jess, Tessa slowly made her way down the large concrete stairs and toward the woman. "My name is Megan. Megan Webb." The woman said. "Umm, hi?" Tessa answered. She heard Jess chucking softly. With a sharp glance at Jess, Megan continued. "How did you end up in that house?" she asked Tessa. Once Tessa had explained her story, Megan asked Tessa where she had gotten the pendant. "From my mother before she died." Tessa replied nervously. "What was your mother's name?" Megan asked Tessa. "Amelia. Amelia Frayne." Tessa replied. Megan pursed her lips. "Is this her?" She handed Tessa a photograph. "Yes. Why?" asked Tessa, puzzled. "Just as I thought. You are one of us." Megan said. "What are you?" Tessa asked. "Shadowhunters. We fight against the evil in our world, as well as fight with downworlders to eradicate demons." Megan said. Tessa slid to the floor.

Tessa awoke to a damp cloth being gently patted on her forehead and cheeks. She groaned. Megan looked down anxiously. Jess was also kneeling down beside Tessa. "Are you alright?" Jess asked. Before Tessa could reply, the girl Tessa met on the hill walked in. "Megan, Rosie is wondering what you would like for dinner." The girl said. Megan rattled of some dishes, before introducing Tessa to the girl. "Tessamine, this is Sophie. Sophie, this is Tessa." Megan said. Tessa smiled weakly at the girl, and the girl beamed back, before hurrying from the room. Once Jess had showed Tessa her room, she flopped the bed and soon fell asleep. A few hours later, Jess knocked on the door. Tessa awoke and opened it. "Dinner is in 15 minutes, if you want to join us." He said. Tessa said she would be there, and closed the door once Jess had left. Tessa then found a note on the closet, left by Sophie. Choose anything you like. It said. You can keep them, if you wish. Tessa smiled to herself, before opening the closet door. She chose a pair of black skinny jeans, a black top, a black leather jacket, and a pair of black ankle boots, with silver studs. She brushed out her cascading Red hair, and she went to try to find the dining room. Once she had eventually found it, she was stunned. It had a high ceiling, dark wooden floors, and a ginormous crystal chandelier. She saw Megan, Sophie, and a few other people she didn't recognise, sitting already. Tessa chose to sit next to Sophie. Sophie gave her a warm smile. "Thanks for the clothes." Tessa said. "No problem. You're welcome to them. I don't fit them anymore." Sophie gazed mournfully at the boots. The entrée was just being served when Jess and Dan came in. There were only two seats left, both next to Tessa. Jess gave Tessa a warm smile and sat down next to her. Tessa returned the smile. "Jess, Dan! Where were you?" Megan asked furiously. With a mouth full of rice and sweet potato, Jess and Dan could only mumble. "Pardon?" Megan asked. Jess cleared his throat. "Training" Jess said, before again taking a large bite of rice and sweet potato. Tessa thought Jess looked a lot like Luke. Ink Black hair, high cheekbones, luminous golden eyes like her own, and long eyelashes. He had paler skin than Luke, though. Once dinner and dessert were finished, everyone talked together, except Tessa. She was thinking, when she felt someone gently poke her arm. "Ouch." She said mildly. "Sorry." Jess shrugged. "Are you alright?" "Yes, fine." She said distantly. Jess doubted her, she could tell. A short while later, everyone was leaving. "Hey." A voice said at Tessa's side. It was Jess. "Do you know where you are going?" Tessa felt like saying yes, but she knew it wouldn't help. "No, not really." Tessa admitted. Jess flashed her a kind smile. "I'll show you." While they walked, Tessa asked "What is this place?" "An abandoned hospital." Jess replied. She opened her mouth to ask another question, when she heard the sound of a violin floating down the hall. "Tchaikovsky" Tessa said, wonderingly. "What?" Jess said, taken aback. "Tchaikovsky." Tessa repeated. "He was one of the greatest violin players of all time. He wrote Violin Concerto." Tessa said. Jess waited for a moment. "Come on." He said. "I'll show you."

Jess lead Tessa to a large Oak door. The violin had become louder now. Jess opened the door to reveal a magnificent music room. Tessa silently walked over to a bookcase and looked behind it, as it was in the middle of the room. There she saw Dan, playing the Violin Concerto in D minor. Tessa gasped. Dan stopped playing and turned around. He saw her and gave her a look of surprize. "That was the Violin Concerto in D minor, written by Tchaikovsky." Tessa breathed. Dan smiled. "Do you like music?" He asked. Tessa nodded. "I can play that." Tessa said. Dan held out the violin and the bow. Tessa took it carefully before she raised it to her chin and looked at the score. Slowly, she began to play.

Once Tessa had finished, she looked up to see both Dan and Jess, their mouths forming silent os. "Wow." Jess said finally. "You are really good." Dan added. "Thanks. My mum taught me." Tessa said, blushing. She taught you well." Jess said. "Thanks." Tessa said. "How many instruments are in here?" Tessa asked. "Nearly 20 of each instrument that exists." Dan replied. "That would mean approximately 4000 instruments!" Tessa said in awe. "Wow. You are really smart." Jess commented. "Thanks." Tessa answered flushing an even deeper red. "Hey, is there a grand piano in here somewhere?" Tessa asked. Wordlessly, Dan and Jess led Tessa to the Grand Piano. Tessa ran a finger over the slick cover. "Can I play it?" Tessa asked. "Go ahead." Dan answered. Tessa sat down and lifted her fingers to the keys. She played.

Once the final note rang out, there were more people in the room. Tessa had hardly noticed, but nearly everyone she had seen at dinner had come into the room. Along with Jess and Dan, their mouths were hanging open "Where did you learn to play that?" One of the boys asked. "My mother" Tessa said. "Wow. She must have been seriously hot." The boy answered. "Tyler!" Sophie screeched, and chased Tyler around the room. "Sorry Tess!" Sophie yelled, while still chasing Tyler around the room. Tessa couldn't help laughing. "What song was that?" Megan asked. "God damn you're beautiful by Chester See" Tessa answered. "I don't care much for titles, just the music in itself." Tessa added. "It sounds so…so sad." Jess joined the discussion. "I play it every time I think about my mother." Tessa answered sadly, and looked down at the piano keys. Suddenly, there was a loud crash, and one of the tiles came off of the bottom of the stairs. "Sophie, Tyler! Be careful!" Megan yelled. "It wasn't us!" they came out of another room, eyes wide. "Well, then-" Megan didn't finish her sentence, as all the other tiles came off, and another demon like the one Tessa killed in the manor rose up from beneath the stairs. Everyone's face was a picture of horror, especially Tessa's. The demon lumbered up to them. They all slowly backed into the other room where Tessa had played the Violin Concerto. It threw everyone to the side, and headed straight to Tessa, who was frozen in shock. Before she could move, it grabbed her and held her dangling in the air. It shook her violently, and she was dangling like a puppet. Suddenly, someone hit it with a Guitar, and it fell, flinging Tessa into the free-standing bookcase that separated the rooms. The bookcase toppled with the force of the push and Tessa fell on top of it, books scattering everywhere. Her head swam when she opened her eyes. The last thing she saw was Sophie. Sophie smashing a clarinet over the demons head, while Tyler returned with a long dagger. Tyler sliced the demon in half, and it folded in on itself. Then, everything went dark.

Tessa woke to a cool, damp cloth being gently patted over her forehead. She looked up to see Sophie, Megan, Jess, Dan, and another girl looking down at her, concerned. She tried to sit up, and suddenly the world swam. "My head." She groaned, and the other girl spoke. "You probably have concussion." She said. Tessa weakly smiled. "Who are you?" Tessa asked the girl. "Lauren. Lauren Whyte." The girl, Lauren, answered. A few minutes later, once the world had stopped spinning, Jess gently lifted Tessa up before carrying her to the infirmary. Once she was there, Lauren gently put a cream on Tessa's head, and she put a bandage on it. Soon, the room was quiet. Everyone had left, and Tessa sat thinking about how her life had changed so dramatically. Soon, Tessa fell asleep.

The next morning, Tessa woke to sunlight streaming through the high windows. Soon after, Lauren came in. "Morning!" She said cheerfully. "Morning." Tessa answered. "What are everyone's names?" She asked Lauren. "Well, there's Jess, Dan, Megan, Tyler, Sophie, Crystal, and Clare. Then there's Rosie the cook, as well as Steph, Lucy, Kiera, and Danni, who are the maids." Lauren answered. "Wow." Tessa replied. Lauren helped Tessa up. "Thanks." Tessa said. "Anytime. Hurry along, now. Breakfast is just starting." Tessa fast walked to the Dining Hall. Once she was seated, the same as the night just gone, Jess and Dan arrived just after Breakfast was served. Megan didn't ask. Jess gave Tessa a warm smile. "How are you feeling?" He asked. "Good. A bit sore, but nothing serious." Tessa answered, and smiled back. That afternoon, as Tessa was writing down some music on a spare music score, she heard a knock on the door. It was Jess. "Hey." He said, and came in. "Hiya." Tessa answered, and she sat back down. "What are you doing?" Jess asked. "Nothing much." Tessa said, glancing down at the sheet. "What is 'nothing much'?" Jess asked, and picked up the sheet. "Nice!" Jess said after looking at the sheet. "What instrument?" He asked. "Violin." Tessa sighed, and flopped back. "You don't sound terribly pleased." Jess observed, and he sat down next to Tessa. "I can't think of a bridge that hasn't been written as a bridge before." Tessa answered, and she had a drink of water from the glass beside her bed. "How about you don't? You can always use the same bridge as long as the rhythm and the other notes are original." Jess answered. Tessa thought. She quickly scribbled some notes down. Gesturing for Jess to follow her, Tessa walked down the corridor to the Music room. It had been tidied and everything put back into place. Tessa grabbed a spare Violin and bow from the wall, before tuning it. She raised the bow, and began to play what she had written.

Jess was listening intently. When she was finished, he was amazed. He hadn't seen anyone but Dan play that well. "Come. I want to show you the training room. I think you would like it." Jess said, and he led Tessa out of the room. When they got to the training room, the first things Tessa saw were the Bow and arrows. "Ooh!" Tessa's gold eyes lit up. Jess followed her gaze and laughed. He went over grabbed several. He handed four to Tessa. He led her over to a target. "Go on." He gestured to Tessa. Tessa pulled her arm back, and aimed. All four shots landed straight in the middle. Jess couldn't believe it. "How did you do that?" he asked, shocked. Tessa giggled. "I don't know. I just aimed and threw, I guess." After an hour, both Jess and Tessa were covered in sweat. Tessa was training Jess on using a Bow and Arrow, and Jess was training Tessa on using Short blade Daggers. When the dinner bell went, they quickly raced of and got changed, before they went down to dinner. When they arrived, Megan asked where they had been. "Training room" Jess answered, before taking a bite. "What!" Megan screeched. "You took Tessamine to the Training Room?" Megan was furious. "I-"Jess looked helplessly at Tessa. "It was my idea. Anyway, I'm a good aim with A bow and arrow." Tessa said, before she too took a bite of the roast Pork. "Really?" Megan asked. Tessa nodded. "Well then show us after dinner." Megan said, and they all finished the rest of the meal in silence.

After dinner, Megan kept her word, and led everyone there to the Training Room. She grabbed a bow and a sheath of arrows and put them on the floor by Tessa's feet. Tessa picked up the bow and aimed, as one by one, each one hit the target right in the center. Megan stood, open-mouthed. Jess was at the back but Tessa could see him trying to hide a grin. Tessa then left the room and went to the Drawing room, took out a Sketchbook and a Pencil, and began to sketch one of the Daggers she had seen. It looked like an exact replica, even down to the details on the handle. Then, she was tired, so she packed up and left the room. She didn't notice Jess pick up the page and gaze thoughtfully after her.

The next morning, when she woke up, she found a belt, with a sheath of arrows and a bow next to her bed. Wear this to the Training Room 10:00am. ~Jess. She read the note, before getting dressed into black jeans, black top, black leather jacket, and black, leather, and stiletto ankle boots. When she went down for breakfast, Jess was already there. She inclined her head in a slight nod to show she got the note and would wear the belt. He nodded back and smiled. After breakfast Tessa went up and got the belt. She tied her hair up in a high ponytail and went upstairs to the Training room. Even though her hair was on top of her head, it was almost to her knees. Inside, she saw Jess practicing his shooting with a bow and arrow. "Trying to beat me, I see." Tessa stepped out of the shadows. He gave her a shrug. "I don't like being beaten." Was all he said in reply, as he threw a shot and missed. "You'd better get used to it then." Tessa said in reply, and threw a shot behind her back and still hit the target. Jess grinned and swatted his hair out of his eyes. "You have long hair." He commented. "Yep" Tessa answered, and she flung an arrow at the ceiling beam, which was very thin and narrow, and hit the dead center. Just then, they heard a knock on the door. It was Dan. "There's been a report of a dead lycanthrope girl by the park. We're needed, as the place stank of a demonic presence." Was all Dan said, before he left the room. "Come on, then." Jess tugged at Tessa's sleeve, and they went after was in a vicious battle with a demon when Tessa and Jess caught up. The demon threw Jess aside, and kicked Tessa's knees, and she went down. Just as the demon lifted his hand to strike Dan, a Dagger went sailing through the air and sliced the demon's taloned hand right off. The demon screeched, before turning to smoke, drifting through the wind. Jess and Dan looked at Tessa, but she was already standing, and looking at Dan with amusement. "I bet you that you didn't know I could do that." Tessa said, before, going over to him. "Are you alright?" She asked him. "Fine." Dan answered, but as he put his wrist out to help steady himself, it was clear he wasn't. "Here." Tessa said, and grabbed his other hand, before pulling him up. Jess then came over, and helped Dan to temporarily bandage his wrist, before leading them all back to the they got inside, Sophie and Lauren rushed to them. "Are you okay?" they both asked. "Fine. I think Dan hurt his wrist, though." Tessa answered, before Lauren and Sophie led Dan to the infirmary, leaving Jess and Tessa alone in the hallway. "Nice move. Slicing off the demon's hand." Jess said. "Well, if I had thrown the dagger at its chest, then it would have fallen on top of Dan, which would be worse." Tessa shrugged. "Come, Tessamine. I think I have something that belongs to you." Jess said, and he led Tessa to his room.

"Nice décor." Tessa's voice dripped with sarcasm. The room was yellow with purple butterflies. Jess grimaced. "I know. It's horrible." He said, before going over to his desk. He took out a sheet of paper from his drawer. "I think this is yours." He said, and handed it over to Tessa. It was the drawing of the dagger. "But I-" Tessa said, and was interrupted by Jess. "I saw it in the drawing room, and I knew it was yours." He indicated to Tessa's signature at the bottom of the page. Just then, there was a knock at the door. It was Lauren. "Miss Tessamine, Megan would like to see you in the library." Lauren said, before scurrying down the corridor. "Here, take it." Tessa handed Jess the drawing. "I don't want it. You can have it." She added, before she hurried down the hall toward the library.

When Tessa got there, she found Megan sitting at a desk. "Oh. Tessamine." Megan got up and stepped toward Tessa. "What were you thinking? Going off after that demon? I know you are new here but-""STOP!" Tessa cried. "Itwasn't me. It was Dan's idea." Tessa explained about how Dan had come into the Training room. "Please forgive me, Tessamine." She said, before Tessa left and headed to the Music room. When she got there, she found Jess, looking through her Sketchbook. "Looking for anything in particular?" Tessa stepped onto the balcony to join Jess. He jumped in surprise, and almost dropped the Sketchbook. "I-""It's okay. I don't mind." Tessa said gently. "You're a really good artist." Jess said. He gave her the Sketchbook. As he went inside, Tessa called out. "Jess." He turned, and walked toward the balcony. "Yes?" he asked. "Please don't call me Tessamine. It's too formal. Make it Tessa." She said. "Okay, Tessa" he said, emphasizing her name. Later on, Tessa was in her room sketching, when she heard Dan and Jess arguing in the library, as her room was right next door to the library. "What happened to you? You were never so desperate to risk your life. No you are risking your life every day! What about the report, the lycanthrope girl. There wasn't one, was there? You made it all up!" Jess said. "What about you? You were never so somber, never not desperate to break the rules. It's all because of her. Tessamine." Dan said, bitterness colouring his voice. "Ever since we found her…" Tessa didn't hear anymore. She crept out of her room and into the library. By this time both boys had their daggers out. Just as they went to try to strike each other, Tessa threw two daggers, end over end, toward the other daggers. All four daggers clattered to the ground. Tessa stood there for a moment, with the two boys staring at her in disbelief, before she spun on her heel and ran for the door. Dan went into another room, and Jess ran after Tessa. He ran into the hallway, expecting it to be empty, but it wasn't. Tessa was leaning back against a wall, blinking furiously as if she was crying. As she saw Jess and turned her head towards him, he saw she was crying. She turned and bolted to the front door. She threw them open and stood for a few moments, until Jess had nearly caught up to her, and she turned right, and bolted down the brick path. It was pouring with rain, and Jess was getting soaked. He saw Tessa dash into an alley behind a bakery, and ducked into the alley, expecting it to be empty. Tessa was facing a wall, and was banging her head against it. There was a trickle of blood running down her forehead. "Tessa" He said, and she turned her head slightly, before turning it back to the wall. "Tessa!" he said, and he grabbed her shoulders and spun her towards him. "Why were you talking about me? What were you-"Tessa!? Listen to me for a moment!" Jess said. "You all hate me. I know it. Megan hates me, Dan hates me, and you hate me-""Tessa! I don't hate you!" Jess interrupted. "Why should I believe you?" Tessa looked up, and her usually luminous eyes had dulled to a faint glimmer. "I swear on the angel, Tessa, you have to believe me. You've taken all of our lives by storm. When we found you-"Jess broke off, biting his lip. "When we found you, we had heard rumors there was a girl being held hostage in the manor. You're special, Tessa. It's rare for us to find a Shadowhunter as brave as you are. You have words as sharp as the daggers you are ace at throwing. You are as good as drawing as you are playing music. You have this." He said, gently running his finger along the Jade pendant. "Why would we hate you?" "Jess." Tessa sighed. Jess lifted Tessa up and pressed his mouth against hers. She put her arms around his neck and he traced her lips with his. It was still pouring with rain, so they were soaked through. He tasted like salt and water and ash, but Tessa didn't care. Suddenly, there was a loud crash. They broke apart, and they saw the door to the bakery had blown off. They looked at each other before heading in. the place was crawling with demon-looking dogs. "Hellhounds." Breathed Jess. One of the dogs leaped toward Tessa. Tessa ripped off her jade pendant and bashed it over the dog's head. She continued doing so until all the dogs which had come to her were lying on the floor, motionless. Jess and Tessa ran out and toward the Institute. Once they got there, they pushed open the doors and raced inside. They ran to the library, where they found Megan. Megan sent out a team of Shadowhunters, including Dan, and sent them to rest.

Later on that night, Tessa headed to the Music room, and to the balcony. She picked up a Violin and played the Violin Concerto. "Tessa." Tessa turned around, startled, and saw Jess, his hair still slightly wet. "You keep getting better. I don't know how you do it." Jess said, and he stepped out onto the balcony. "I don't either, to be perfectly honest." She laughed shakily. "Tess, they found a body." "And?" she answered. "It was Amelia Frayne's body." Jess said, looking at the floor. "But-"Tessa's head swam. "That's impossible. I buried my mother a few months ago." Tessa said, her voice rising a few octaves. "Tessa, Amelia wasn't you're mother." Jess said quietly. "I-"for once, Tessa was lost for words. Tessa sank into a chair, and put her head in her hands. Jess heard her sobbing slightly. "Tess-"Jess sat down beside her. He pulled her into his arms, and he heard her crying softly. "Then-then who was my mother?" Tessa asked between sobs. "We don't know yet." Jess said. Tessa turned her head up toward his. "Tess." Jess gently pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. Suddenly, Tessa pressed her mouth to his. He was surprised for a moment, before he held her tightly and kissed her back.

The next morning, they woke to someone gently shaking them. It was Dan. As Jess rubbed sleep out of his eyes, Tessa stared at Dan sleepily. Dan had a look of amusement on his face. 'Wake up, sleepyheads. It's already 11 o'clock!" Dan said. He smiled at Tessa. "Go get you're Violin from Downstairs. It fell from the balcony." He added. Tessa blushed. She gingerly stood up and went downstairs, rubbing her eyes. Jess was now sitting up, still trying to rub the sleep away. He got up and went downstairs, to go to his room, and didn't notice Dan's puzzled look.

Later on that afternoon, Tessa decide to go for a walk. It was a beautiful summer's day. Jess saw her and went after her. "Hey." He said. 'Hi" Tessa smiled warmly. 'I was just going to go for a walk. Want to come with me?" Jess smiled gratefully, and joined her. After a while, Jess started noticing that these people were following them. He told her so in a low voice. She slowly turned to see the people were following them. Suddenly, one of them grabbed Jess and threw him on the ground. "Jess!" Tessa cried, and knelt down beside him. Just then, another one of them grabbed Tessa, and dragged her away.

When Tessa woke, she was lying on the ground in a strange room. She tried to sit up, and felt a searing pain up her right arm. She saw it had a long gash and was bleeding. She then saw Jess lying crookedly across the room. She crawled over to him. "Jess?" she whispered. He groaned. As he opened his eyes, she saw he had a long cut down his face. She fingered it gently. "Tessa?" he said. "Oh, God. Where are we?" he asked. She shrugged. Just then the door opened. Samuel Silvertongue stepped in. "Ah, Jess Webb and Tessamine Frayne. I see you have awakened." He said in his gravelly voice. Tessa and Jess glared at him. "What the hell do you want?" Tessa asked. 'You never got around to explaining it the last time we met." Her mouth curved into a smirk at the corners. "No, I didn't. But you are the only one who has what I want." Samuel said. "And that is what?" Tessa said. Samuel smiled a sickening smile. "Your Pendant." He said.

"But, I don't have it." Tessa said. Samuel looked toward Jess, who then handed something to Tessa. It was her pendant which she had lost at the bakery. Just then, two burly men strode into the room. They grabbed Tessa and Jess, and led them downstairs into another room. A few hours later, both Jess and Tessa were asleep. They woke to a loud crash. Then, they heard a yell. They raced for the door and went to Samuel. Jess got him a few times, before Tessa, still standing on the stairs, threw a dagger and got Samuel in the chest. He slumped to the ground, and Jess and Tessa ran out of the house, and down a hill, before Jess shoved Tessa down and covered her, while there was a Bang! And the house burst into flames. Once everything had died down, they picked themselves up and walked until they found a cab that could take them to the city. They left the cab and walked into the institute, bloodied and cut. Megan rushed up to them, bombarding them with questions. Once Megan had calmed down, she asked them to go with her to the Library, and she turned on her heels and walked away. They both followed her. "We discovered who your mother is, Tessamine." Megan said. Tessa nodded. "Alicia Moore." Megan said. Jess jumped, startled by the name. Dan then came in. "Did someone mention my mother?" he said. Megan looked at Tessa, to see her reaction. Her face was a look of shock. "Oh, Tess-"Jess began, before Tessa leaned back against a wall and slowly slid to the floor, putting her head in her hands. Jess knelt down beside her. He could hear her sobbing. He looked at Dan, and Dan came over. "Tessamine-"he began, but was cut off by Tessa. "Don't call me that! " Tessa screamed, and bolted for the door. Dan went to go after her, but Jess stopped him. "Don't. Leave her for a while." Jess said in a low voice. Dan raised his eyebrows but didn't protest. At dinner, Tessa didn't appear. Later on, Jess went out and bought some Pizza, before going the one place he knew she'd be.

Even from the stairwell, Jess could hear the clanging of knives hitting wood. He went into the Training room silently. "Tessa-"he began, but quickly ducked as a dagger came flying in his direction, skimming his hair. Tessa stood, a look of surprise on her face. "Jess." She said finally. "You startled me." "Not more than you startled me." Jess said, and he plucked the dagger from the wall, before sliding it in a spare sheath and gently throwing it to Tessa. "I bought you Pizza." He said, and lightly dropped a cardboard box onto a table. "Thanks." Tessa said simply, and went over to the box. "Look, I know you're upset but-" "Of course I'm upset. My mother is someone I never knew and my brother is someone who hates me. My life is really fabulous right Now." She snapped, and she threw another dagger at the wall. Jess grabbed her arms, and took away the dagger she had picked up. "Tess, listen to me. I know you're upset, but you have to come down at some point. You can't stay up here forever." Jess said gently. "Why not!?" Tessa snapped, and tried to pull her arms free, but Jess kept his grip. "Tessa! Stop acting like you're a brick wall!" Jess said. "What's that supposed to mean?" Tessa said. "Like you don't have a personality. Like nothing ever hurts you! I grew up the same way, believing that my last name was Frayne. Then I found out that my last name was Webb, and I felt exactly the same way." Jess said. "You also believed your last name was Frayne?" Tessa whispered. Jess nodded. "I thought my dad was Michael Frayne." Jess said. "That's my dad!" Tessa exclaimed. 'Well, it was my dad." She added, before looking up at Jess. "You can't act like this forever. You're not invincible, Tess." Jess said. Tessa sighed. "I just don't feel like being around anyone at the Dan." Tessa said. Jess sighed. "You're going to have to see him at some point." Jess said, gently tucking a loose strand of Tessa's hair behind her ear. "Tess." Jess sighed. "When you first came here, it was like you had built yourself a brick wall. Slowly, one by one, the bricks fell away, revealing you." Jess said. 'The real you. Now, because of a single piece of news, despite what the news is, you've rebuilt this wall. You can't keep hiding away like that. You've got to face a challenge, head on, like you always do. Like when you smashed a demon's head in with your pendant. Sliced a demon's hand off using a dagger from 50 feet away. Killed many hellhounds using, again, that pendant. This isn't like you, shying away from a challenge." Jess said. Tessa sighed. "Hey, Jess?" she asked. "Yes?" he replied. "Why is my pendant so special? Capable of doing all these things?" Tessa asked. Jess sighed. "It's not jade. It's Green Adamas. Only the Iron Sisters can craft with the stuff. That's why it's so special. Is pretty much a Shadowhunter-Only material." Jess said. Tessa nodded her head slowly. Gently, she kissed Jess. "Please, when I go down, please stay with me." She said. Jess smiled against her lips. "Of course."

After Tessa had eaten the pizza, Jess helped her tidy away the Daggers, before heading downstairs with her, like he said. On their way, they ran into Dan, who was going upstairs. Tessa went rigid, and her face was as still as stone. "Tess." Jess said warningly. Tessa took a deep breath. She smiled. "Hi." She said, and glided down the stairs. Jess chuckled, and went after her, Dan soon following. "What's up with her?" Dan whispered. "She's upset. Wouldn't you be?" Jess said, and raced to catch up with Tessa.

Tessa couldn't sleep. She kept replaying the scene in her head, when she found out who her mother was and who her brother was. So, she got up, got quickly changed into the black, ankle boots, the black skinny jeans, and the black tank top with the black leather jacket, and wandered noiselessly into the library. She lit a lamp and reached for a book on a shelf. She set it down silently and thumbed to the index, and found Moore. She went to the page given and started looking at the Moore family tree. With a start, Tessa saw her own name on there. Under Alicia and Darren Moore, there was Daniel Stephen Moore and Tessamine Serenity Moore. "Hey." Said a voice at the door, and Tessa turned, startled. It was Dan. He came over and saw what she was looking at. He smiled ruefully. "I knew I had a sister called Tessamine. But mum told me she died in a fire when I was three or so." Dan said. "When you arrived, I just didn't put the two-and-two together." Dan looked down at the page. "It's fine, really." Tessa said. "To be fair, we do look quite alike." Tessa smiled at him. Just then, Megan came in, flustered. "Good. I thought you two would be in here. There's someone here to see you, Tessamine." Megan said, and rushed out the door again. Tessa and Dan exchanged quizzical looks, before heading after Megan. When they reached the front door, Dan stood and went pale. Standing in the doorway was a woman, no taller than Tessa. She had wavy dark-red hair, a darker shade than Tessa's, and Tessa's gold eyes. In other words, a near mirror-image of Tessa. "Umm, who are you?" Tessa asked nervously. As soon as the woman saw Tessa, her face lit up. "Tessamine!" she cried. "Umm, who are you again?" Tessa asked. The woman's face turned to Megan. "Did you not tell her I was coming?" she asked curiously. "I-there wasn't time." Megan flustered. The woman turned her attention back to Tessa. 'Why, Tessamine." She said. "I am your mother."

Tessa's golden eyes went wide with shock. She had slightly golden, tanned skin, but now it looked more milky white than tanned. "I-What?" Tessa said. "I had to leave you when you were two." She said sadly. "I knew a friend of mine always wanted a child, so I gave you up. She went as Amelia Frayne, bust she wasn't the real Amelia Frayne." The woman said. "What is your name?" Tessa asked. "Alicia." The woman, Alicia said. "Well, I'll be off, Alicia" Tessa said coldly, and shoved past her, outside. It was blowing a gale, and raining in sheets. There was a crack of lightning that lit up the night sky. Tessa turned, and ran.

Jess and Dan ran to the door. "Tessa!" they both yelled, but to no avail. She had simply disappeared. They looked at each other for a moment, before running after her, taking out their witchlight's as they ran. Alicia sank down onto a chair and started sobbing. Megan comforted her, telling her everything was going to be fine, and they would return with Tessa soon. It got to past midnight, and there was still no sign of them.

Jess shoved Dan to go ahead. "I'll meet you here later." Jess said, and waited for Dan to go. He had a fairly good idea where she would be. He turned toward the alley where he had found Tessa before, and looked up just in time to see Tessa dash around a corner. "Tessa! Wait!" he shouted, and raced after her. She had run into another alley, a dead end. Tessa slid down the wall and started crying. "Oh, Tess." Jess said, and he walked over, before kneeling down beside her. "Jess." Tessa sobbed, and buried her head in her knees. "Remember what I told you? 'You've got to face a challenge, head on, like you always do. Like when you smashed a demon's head in with your pendant. Sliced a demon's hand off using a dagger from 50 feet away.' I mean that, Tess. You can't keep on running from your problems." Jess said gently. "We've been having too many run-ins with demons, lately. And all of them are coming for you." Jess's voice was desperate, urgent. "Please come back with me Tess." Tessa quietened her sobbing. "I can't face her! She abandoned me. Left me with some friend of hers. Who would do that to their own child?" Tessa said in between sobs. Jess clutched Tessa tightly. "Everything will be fine. You will sort it out. But we must head back." Jess said. There was silence. Then, slowly, Tessa rose her head. "My Pendant." She whispered. It was glowing, and was hot to the touch. Jess cursed. 'It is meant to detect demons." He said. "Now, you should really start to panic." Jess said, staring over her shoulder. A giant demon was standing over them, a cold smile on its face. It grabbed at Tessa, before a shining steel dagger went flying through the air, and got the demon's hand. The demon vanished. No single trace. Tessa and Jess turned toward the direction the dagger came from, and saw Dan. Dan smiled. "I guess I just returned the favour, hey Tess?" Dan said, before coming over to them and helping them both up. Tessa had injured herself running, and the demon had scraped her face, sending small rivers of blood down her face, where the scratches had left slight indentations. Dan and Jess helped Tessa walk while they slowly made their way back to the Institute. When they got there, they found Megan, Sophie, Alicia, Lauren, Tyler, Crystal, Clare, Rosie, Steph, Lucy, Kiera, and Danni all standing in the foyer, worriedly. When Clare saw them, she let out a squeal. 'They're here!" Everyone descended on the threesome, asking Dan and Jess what happened, and leading Tessa to the Infirmary, so they could attend the cuts and the slightly twisted ankle Tessa had sustained while running. A few minutes later, in the infirmary, Tessa was lying on one of the crisp white beds, getting her ankle bandaged and getting cream smoothed over her face and the cuts. Just before she passed out, she remembered thinking why did this all happen to me? Before she let the darkness fold in around her.

Tessa woke to the sound of a small glass being placed by her bedside. She fluttered her eyes open and remembered all that had happened to her yesterday. There was now a small mug next to her bed. She slowly lifted herself up and peered into the cup. It was filled with Cinnamon Hot Chocolate. She rested her head back against the wall and saw Alicia standing by the bed. Tessa gave a weak smile. Alicia handed her the mug and Tessa slurped it gratefully. "Look, Tessamine-"Tessa interrupted her. "Please, call me Tessa. Tessamine is much too formal." "Okay. Look. I need to explain your past." Alicia said. "Okay. I'm listening." Tessa said. "When you were born, Daniel was three. I was living on my own, as a widow of a Mundane. I married him and I separated myself from the Clave, so that's why you had no Nephilim upbringing. Your father was killed by a fire at his workplace, by the way. Anyway, I had no job, and Daniel was very…difficult." Tessa smiled. "I gave you to my friend, who was at the time pretending to be Amelia Frayne, don't ask me why, as I have no idea myself. When I got a letter from Megan, I was most surprised. She said she remembered that I had a daughter, and asked what her name was. The reply I got was astonishing. She explained all about you, and I portaled here straight away." Alicia finished. Tessa was silent for a moment. "We look a lot alike." Tessa said. "Is there anything I got from my father?" Tessa asked quietly. "Well, what are your passions, what are you good at?" Alicia asked. "Violin, Piano, Guitar, Singing, Reading, and I'm a crack shot at throwing Daggers. Oh, and drawing." Tessa rattled off. "You got most of them from your dad. I was the singer, though." Alicia smiled. "Well, I'd better get changed." Tessa said. Alicia smiled. "Before I forget, I'm interested to know your secrets on how you manage Dan." Tessa paused. "No one manages Dan." She sighed.

A few minutes later, Tessa was walking down the marble steps toward the Music room. "Hey." Tessa jumped, startled, and saw Jess standing behind her. "You gave me a fright!" she mock-scowled at Jess, and he laughed. "I presume you've talked to Alicia." Jess said, and joined Tessa as she walked toward the Music room. "Yes. I know everything now." Tessa said. "If you want to know, ask Dan." Tessa said, and pushed open the door, nearly knocking Jess over. "Whoa!" Jess said. Tessa sighed. "Sorry." She said. She didn't sound sorry. She picked up a Violin and played the harshest song Jess had ever heard. 'Careful, you'll break the Violin!" Jess said. "Why should I care?" Tessa snapped, and snapped the bow in half "Tessa! What's wrong?" Jess said. "What's wrong!?" Tessa cried. "My whole life is falling apart around me, and I can't do anything about it!" "Tessa-"Jess said. "No! I don't need to hear it." Tessa screamed, and threw one of the ends of the bow at Jess it hit his shoulder. "Tessamine!" Jess shouted, and grabbed her and shook her. Hard. "Shut up and listen, will you?!" Jess said. Tessa tried to get away, but it was a vain attempt. "You have got to listen to me. "Jess! Let go of me you-" "No! No I won't let you go until you stop acting like this. It has got to stop!" Jess said. "Every time you hear something you don't want to hear, you go off in a Temper!" "Well, maybe I want a normal life. Maybe I want to go back to how things were before. Maybe I just want to sink into a hole." Tessa said. "Tessa! Stop acting like that!" Jess tightened his grip of her arms. "You are one of the best Shadowhunters I know. You have had virtually zilch training, and yet you throw a dagger like you are just walking down the street. You are completely fearless. Why the hell would you say that?!" "Because it's true!" Tessa's eyes welled up with tears. "I want to go back to how things were. When I was living in Paris, and I got off of a cruise ship after going to the Bahamas for a month. When I was at high school, learning French ad studying music." Tessa's eyes could hold no longer, and tears streamed down her cheeks. 'Why me?" Tessa whispered. Jess hugged her tight. 'Because it is your destiny. You could be one of the greatest Shadowhunters the world has ever known" Jess whispered into her ear. Tessa clutched him tightly. "But-" "Tess." Jess said softly, and looked into her glittering Golden eyes. "We need you. You could save us. Now only with this-"Jess broke off, gently fingering Tessa's pendant. "But with this." He touched her temple. "You are more powerful than the regular Shadowhunter. You have the power to defeat those who are coming after you who might be dark Shadowhunters, or warlocks. We need you. You can't just throw all this away." Jess said. Tessa looked at the ground for a few moments. When she raised her head, Jess pulled her toward him, pressing his mouth to hers.

"Any news from anyone who is trying to kill me now?" Tessa said. She was lying on her bed, reading, when Jess had knocked, asking to come in. Jess bit his lip. 'Maybe." He muttered. "Well? My ears are working perfectly fine!" Tessa said. "We have had a message delivered from a group of dark Shadowhunters. They are asking for you to be delivered to them or they set fire to the city." "What!" Tessa cried. "Are they crazy?!" "Probably." Jess said. He sat down on the bed, as now Tessa had swung her legs over the side of the crisp white bed. "So, what do we do?" Tessa asked. "We wait."

Tessa was sitting by the window in the Music room, watching the city. Suddenly, and spark of bright light lit up the sky. It was a fire, and it was spreading quickly. She called out to Jess and Dan, and they came running. As soon as they saw it, they both cursed. "They really were serious." Dan said, and he ran to get Megan. Tessa sees a family running from their home, which has caught on fire, and they are screaming for help, crying, when a circle of fire envelops them. Tessa's eyes well up, and she covers her mouth with her hand. Jess pulls her toward him, and hugs her tightly.

A few hours later, there is nearly nothing left of the city. As Tessa walked downstairs and into the library, she is greeted with around four or five white faces, Megan in the center. Without a word, Megan thrusts a letter at Tessa, who nearly drops it. She reads it, her eyes widening in shock.

Give us the girl. If you do not give her to us, we will destroy all those you love. We have already destroyed the city. How much more will you take?

Tessa's hands tremble. "Oh, god." She says at last. "Who could be sending these?" Dan says, and they all start talking. "Luke Kendall." Tessa says quietly. Everyone swivels their head toward Tessa. "Luke Kendall." Tessa repeats. "He was a close friend of my family. He was in the room first when I was first caught before Samuel came in. He went out, and I haven't seen him since. Could he be the one behind this?" "Luke Kendall?" Megan says,incredulously. "Yes. Why?" Tessa said, looking at Megan. Megan had gone pale, and was running a shaky hand through her hair. "Luke is Jess's dad." Megan says at last.

Silence falls upon the room. Tessa looks as though she is going to throw up, while Jess is staring down at the floor like a hole will open and swallow him. "I-"Tessa's head begins to swim. Everyone starts to talk at once. "Wait." Tessa says, and every head swivels toward her. She looks up. "I have an idea. If you give me to him, just make sure you try to follow me and stay nearby." Tessa says, before stalking out of the room. "We can't possibly-"Megan begins, but is cut off by Jess. "Let her do it. She does have her Pendant, and she can use anything. Trust me, I've seen her use a trash can to slice a demon clean in half. We might as well." He says slowly, before looking up at Alicia and Dan. "But it's your choice." Alicia's lip starts to tremble. "Okay." Dan says. "Let's do it."

A few hours later, Megan receives a reply.

Send her to 121 West Mara drive.

They set out. They leave Tessa a block away and surround the place for the plan. Tessa takes a deep breath and knocks on the door. The door swings open and she steps inside. She is grabbed by the shoulders and led to a small, dark room, where Luke is waiting. "I see you're so-called 'friends' made the right decision." Luke said. Tessa, following the plan, just swallowed. "Can I ask you a question, Tessamine?" Luke asked her. She nodded. "Now, I want the truth. Can you promise me that?" Tessa nodded again. "I hear you have been with Megan and Jess Webb." Luke said. "Are they doing okay?" Luke asked. Tessa stared. Seriously? Was Luke asking about their welfare? "Yes." Tessa said through gritted teeth. "I always felt guilty about leaving them." Luke said aloud to no one in particular. He moved toward Tessa, and she backed up. Luke kept coming closer, until Tessa was backed against a wall. "Give me the Pendant."Luke hissed. Tessa could only laugh. "I don't have it." She declared, and Luke took a step back. "Tom, get her." He ordered, and a man stepped out of the shadows. He grabbed Tessa's arms and pulled her against the wall, banging her head on the concrete slab, and the world fell away to darkness.

Tessa woke to the door crashing open. There stood Jess, Dan, Sophie, Lauren, and Megan. Luke quickly grabbed Tessa and held a knife to her throat, pulling her to the center of the room. "If you move, I'll kill her." Luke said. "You wouldn't." Dan said. Luke pressed the knife into Tessa's skin, and she felt a trickle of hot liquid spill down her chest. Dan's eyes widened. Sophie used her gold snake whip and secured it on Luke's leg. Luke shouted out, and he pushed Tessa away. She flew through the air and slammed into the concrete wall, slumped, and fell into a pile of hay. Tessa passed out again, unaware of what was going on. Sophie reeled Luke in kicking and screaming, before pushing him into a freezer box, reeling in her whip just before she slammed the door shut, and locked it. Luke's henchmen struck, and beat them all bloody, although they remained standing and fighting. Once Luke's henchmen had been defeated, they all trooped out, except Jess. He went over to the pile of hay, and gently knelt down beside Tessa. He lightly shook her shoulder. "Tess." He whispered. She fluttered her eyes open and sat up slowly. "Jess?" she whispered, her voice croaky. Before she could react, Jess pulled her toward him, pressing his mouth to hers. She looped her arms around his neck, kissing him back. They parted, and Tessa gasped for breath. "How did you-"Jess interrupted. "Dan and I were watching from the window, and Soph, Lauren, and Megan were checking around and knocking over any guards." Jess answered. Tessa nodded. "Luke-" "Is locked in a freezer box." Jess grinned, despite his bloody appearance. "I have the feeling he's feeling a bit chilly right about now." Tessa laughed. "Do you have-""Yes. Right here." Tessa said, putting her hand into her inside jacket pocket, and pulling out the pendant. Tessa could see the look on his face. 'I said I didn't have it. Worked a charm." She answered his expression, before fastening the pendant back around her neck. Jess pulled her to her feet, and helped her hobble out. Suddenly, there was an ear splitting whistle, and Jess pushed her to the door. She stumbled out, before righting herself and looking towards the door. A few minutes later, Jess came out. "Go." He said, pointing toward the paddock next door to the house. Tessa half ran, half hobbled to the paddock, and swung herself over the fence. Megan came over. "How-" Suddenly, there was a loud roar from the house, and it exploded into bright light. The waves of heat were incredibly strong, knocking them over. A few minutes later, they pulled themselves up, and saw that where the house once stood, was a pile of completely blackened wood.

A few days later, Tessa was in the Drawing Room, drawing a coiled snake, when Crystal came in. "Hi, Crystal." Tessa said. Crystal sat down beside her. She was silent for a few moments, So Tessa turned toward her. Crystal's hand cracked across Tessa's face. Tessa cried out, her face stinging with pain. "Don't waltz in here and act all high and mighty." Crystal hissed, before leaving. Tessa rubbed her face gently. What did I do? She wondered.

Tessa was wondering through the corridors when she saw Crystal up ahead. She walked up behind her. "Hey there, buddy." She said, and Crystal turned, startled. "What's your problem?" Tessa asked. Crystal grabbed a length of Tessa's hair and tugged at it. Hard. "You heard me." Crystal said again. "I don't see your problem." Tessa shrugged. Crystal slapped her again. Tessa raked her fingernails down the side of Crystal's face, and Crystal pushed Tessa to the ground, before she started kicking her. Tessa lunged for Crystal's foot, grabbed it, and yanked it, Crystal slid to the ground. Megan came rushing, just as Crystal was about to kick Tessa again. "What is going on?" she said, looking from Tessa to Crystal. She led them both into the library, before taking Tessa and talking with her, first. "So, what happened?" she asked. Tessa explained it all, from the drawing room to just before Megan found them. Megan then took Crystal and asked her the same thing, but Crystal said that Tessa had started it all, she was acting in self-defense, blah blah blah. Megan chose to believe Tessa, and Tessa went to her room, silently fuming. She was sitting on her bed, playing her Guitar, when someone knocked on the door. It was Jess. He looked surprised to see her face so bloody. Before he could even ask, Tessa pointed to her face, and said one word. "Crystal."

Later on that night, everyone was seated for dinner. Megan suddenly rushed in with a letter. She was pale and trembling. Jess tensed next to Tessa. Megan just thrust the note to Tessa, who took it and read it.

_Did you really think you were safe? We want that pendant. We will do whatever it takes to get it. We will hurt all those who you love, Tessamine. Be very careful._

Tessa went pale, and the expression on her face said it all. She quickly got up and ran from the room, dropping the letter. Megan went over and retrieved the letter, before handing it to Jess. He could see why she was so upset. Jess cursed. "Who the hell is after her now?" he said, passing the note to Dan. Dan had to agree with Jess.

Tessa ran. She ran and ran to her room, slamming the door shut. She fell onto the bed and curled herself into a little ball, before silently sobbing into her pillow.

A few hours later, there was a knock at the door. The door opened and closed silently, and Tessa wondered who it was. When the person sat down on the bed, Tessa saw that it was Jess who had come in. She buried her head further into the pillow. "Oh, Tess." Jess said softly. "We read the note." Tessa said a muffled reply. "Pardon?" Jess said. Tessa pulled her head from the pillow. "Worthless bastards." She said before she buried her head again. Jess laughed. "I can't say I disagree with you." He replied. Tessa sat up and hugged her knees. "But why my pendant? Why not get a different Adamas pendant like mine? It doesn't make sense." She said. "Unfortunately, we agree." Jess said. He swung his legs over the side and lay down. "But who is it now?" Tessa wondered aloud. "Luke, Samuel, their henchmen, their all dead, so who else could be after me?" "Their master." Jess replied. Tessa turned her head to Jess. "What?" she said. "Whoever they were obeying. If you had stayed, than they would probably have handed you over to their master, the one who really wants that pendant." "Oh god, it's so confusing." Tessa muttered in reply, exhausted. She flopped back down onto the pillow. Jess looped a strand of her hair around his finger and playfully tugged at it. "Whoever it is, Tess, you'll kill them." Jess said. Tessa let out a short laugh "And how do suppose I do that?" she asked. "With this." Jess said, gently tugging at the pendant. "How does that work? So far I've only killed Demons, not people with the pendant." Tessa rolled her eyes and looked at him. "You'll think of something. You always do." He answered, still gently tugging at her hair. Tessa reached behind her bedhead and pulled out a sketchbook. "This is my actual sketchbook. The other one is full of practice drawings." She said, and handed the book to Jess. Jess grinned and un-curled Tessa's hair from his finger, before flicking through the book. "It's not fair. You're good at everything!" Jess mock-scowled. "Not quite." Tessa answered, laughing. She turned over so she was facing Jess. "Tess." Jess said. "Yes?" she answered. "Since the first time you were trapped in the house, have you ever thought about it?" Jess asked. Tessa paused. "Yes." She said slowly. "I have. It's like reliving a nightmare." She said. "Sorry to bring it up." Jess added, almost as an afterthought. "Don't be." Tessa said. "Fair enough." Jess smiled. "And, Tess?" Jess asked. "Yes?" She answered, looking at him. "What do you think that note meant?" Jess asked. Tessa sighed. "I have no idea." She answered, before Jess pulled her toward him, and gently kissed her.

Jess gently prodded Tessa awake. "Hmm?" she mumbled, fluttering her eyes open. The sunlight was streaming through the window, and Jess was standing over her. His face was grim. "We just received another note." He said, and Tessa jumped up, and pulled on her boots, stopping only to grab a hairbrush from her dresser. They both walked in silence, broken only by Tessa's hairbrush combing out her matted hair. When they walked in the library, they found Megan, her face pale, reading another note.

_Give her to us. Weren't we clear enough last time? If you don't, we will destroy the institute._

Tessa's eyes widened as she read the note, and her face paled. "N-now what do we do?" she said in bewilderment. "We don't know." Megan said. Suddenly, Tessa's phone rang. She pulled it out and frowned at the screen. Unknown number said the screen. She pressed answer, and put the phone to her ear. "Hello?" she said. "Hello, Tessamine. Enjoying your little 'vacation'?" A voice hissed. Tessa pressed speakerphone, before answering. "Who is this?" she asked. "Do you really need to know?" the voice answered, and Jess's face paled considerably. "Give us your pendant." The voice hissed. "Give it to us." The voice added, before the call went dead. Tessa slid to the ground.

Tessa woke on the cold marble floor, her heart beating in her ears. She flicked her eyes upward and saw Jess and Megan kneeling down beside her, their faces bent over her. Both their faces were a look of concern. Tessa tried to stand up, but slid to the floor again. "Déjà vu." She muttered, as Jess helped her to her feet. Despite himself, he grinned. "Are you alright?" Jess asked. Tessa nodded, and collapsed into the chair Megan had brought over. She rubbed her temples. "Oh god." She said. Jess grinned. "Yep, definitely feeling better." He said teasingly, and Tessa hit him lightly on the shoulder. Megan brought her phone over. "I managed to record the voice. Sophie is trying to figure out whose voice it is now." She said, before handing the phone back to Tessa. Tessa took it and placed it on the table. Suddenly, her arm started to throb. She looked down in surprise and saw there was a deep scratch on the inside of her lower arm. She gently touched her finger to it and winced. Just then, Sophie came running. Her face was pale, and she was trembling. "Miss, we know who it is." She said, gasping for breath. Megan motioned for her to continue. "It's Crystal's father." She said, and Tessa's vision gave way to darkness.

Tessa's whole body ached. The one thing she realized before she opened her eyes was that she was lying on a bed, not in a chair. She opened her eyes and tried to pull herself upward, and then a hand was gently forcing her back downagain. It was Jess. "You hit your head. It will hurt quite a lot if you try to sit up too quickly." He said. "You've been out cold for 2 days." He added. "Oh, god." Tessa said. Jess smiled "You're feeling chirpy!" Jess teased. Tessa threw a pillow at him. He laughed and threw it back. Tessa sat up and felt fine. She arched an eyebrow at Jess, who shrugged. "Don't look at me." Jess said. Tessa stood up gingerly. She walked to the bathroom door and back, before walking to the door. "Coming?" she turned to Jess, before walking out the door.

Tessa and Jess were halfway down the corridor to the library when Tessa's phone rang again. She ignored it this time. When they got to the library, theysaw a panicked Megan. "Alicia is gone." She said before they could ask. "Nothing. Haven't heard from her. She won't pick up her phone." Just then, Tessa's phone rang again. She put it on speakerphone just as Dan came in the room. "Hello?" Tessa said. "Tessamine? Oh, thank god." Alicia's voice floated down the line. Dan came over and plucked the phone out of Tessa's hand. "Mum?" Dan said. "Dan?! I'm in Paris. I- Hello, Daniel Moore. I didn't quite expect you to be on the other end of the line." A voice interrupted Alicia. Tessa's stomach dropped. "Christopher." Dan whispered. Jess must have seen Tessa's face. "Crystal's Dad." Jess whispered in Tessa's ear. Tessa's eyes widened. "Well, Crystal? Don't you have anything to say to the people you have betrayed?" Christopher said. "Worthless pieces of-" Crystal was interrupted by Dan. "Crystal! How could you?!" he practically shouted into the phone. "Easy. You never trusted me. Never picked me to fight with you." Crystal spat. "Now, now children." Christopher said, chuckling. "Daniel, can you please pass me to your sister?" Dan wordlessly handed the phone to Tessa. "What have you done?" Tessa's voice trembled down the phone. "Nothing. If you give us your pendant, we will let your mother go. Simple." Tessa held her hand over the receiver. "We could. I could get another-" "No way." Jess said, plucking the phone out of Tessa's hands, before hitting end call, and dropping the phone lightly on the table. "No way." Jess repeated. "Your one is special. It protects your life. If you had an ordinary one before, you would have been dead dozens of times." Jess said. It was obvious that Dan and Megan agreed with Jess. "Well then, how do we get her back?" Tessa voiced the unspoken question between them all. "Track the call. Apparently they are in Paris somewhere." Jess said. "Well." Tessa said thoughtfully. "If you can give me a map of Paris and the location of the cell phone tower, then I can help." She said. Everyone stared at her. "I did live there, or have you forgotten?" Tessa said defensively. Slowly, Dan nodded. He tore a map from the wall and set it down on the table, before going to see Sophie, to ask if she could track the cell phone tower for them. "Sophie seems to know her stuff when it comes to technology." Tessa said. Jess smiled. "She is rather smart, I have to admit." He said. Just then, Dan came in, grabbed the map, and walked away. "By the Angel-" Jess said, before Dan came in again. He laid the map on the table. "Well?" he asked. Tessa found the location of the tower, and felt the air in her lungs escape. "What?" Jess said. "That's Rue Rene Boyer!" Tessa gasped. "That's the street where I used to live!"

Everyone started talking at once. Megan held up her hand for silence. "Dan, go and ask Sophie if she can get the exact location, possibly the address." Megan barked, and Dan took the map before slipping out of the room. Tessa sank into the nearest chair. "But why-" "I know." Jess's voice sounded grim. "Christopher and Crystal chose that place for a reason. They want to hurt you, make it close to home." Jess knelt down beside Tessa. Tessa muffled something under her breath. "Pardon?" Jess asked. "But, no one knew where I lived. I haven't told anyone! So how did they figure that out?" Tessa said. "We will need to go there." Jess said. "I can help with directions." Tessa looked up. "I speak 8languages fluently, including French." Tessa said. Jess's eyes widened. "What languages?" he asked. "Spanish, French, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, German, and Ukrainian." Tessa listed. "Wow." Jess said. Suddenly, Dan came in. "Number 447 Rue Rene Boyer." Dan said. Tessa's face paled. "What?" Jess said worriedly. Tessa grabbed the map and looked at the new mark. "No. That's impossible-" "What is it, Tess?" Jess asked. Tessa looked up at him. "That's my old house." Tessa said, and silence fell upon the room.

Tessa put her head in her hands. Dan and Jess looked at her pitifully. "Oh, Tessa." Dan said, and knelt on the other side of Tessa's chair. Tessa looked up, salty tears spilling down her cheeks. "But-But why-" Tessa said, and looked down at the map again. Water dripped off her long eyelashes, splashing down onto the map. "But-" "Somehow they found out. And your mother is there right now." Jess said in a low voice, looking at both Tessa and Dan. "We'll portal tomorrow." Jess said. Dan nodded wordlessly and went out of the library, soon followed by Megan. "Go get some sleep, Tess. You'll need it for tomorrow." Jess said gently. "I-" Tessa's sentence broke off in a sob. Jess gently pulled her to her feet. Tessa wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Oh, Tess." Jess pulled her toward him, clutching her tightly. "You need to sleep." He said softly into her ear. Tessa nodded slightly. Jess led her to her door. Jess left her at her door, before walking down the corridor to his own room. Tessa opened the door and shut it again silently. She fell onto the bed, and fell asleep quickly.

In the dream, she looked up toward her house. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door, and saw the floor was painted in blood. Running up the stairs, she ran into the kitchen, and found everything torn apart. Each room had been upturned. Finally Tessa reached her room. She opened the door and screamed. There was Alicia, lying dead on the floor. There was 'now you will do what I ask.' Painted in blood on the wall.

Jess shook Tessa awake. "Tessa. Wake up!" he said. Tessa opened her eyelids fast, and looked around, her heart racing. She was in her room, and Jess was looking worriedly at her. She was tangled up in the sheets, and her nightmare came flooding back. She buried her head in her pillow. "Are you alright?" Jess asked, alarmed. Tessa just nodded. "You were screaming." Jess said. Tessa's cheeks flushed a dark red. "It's around 7 in the morning." Jess observed. Tessa turned over. "Meet me in the Music room." Jess called as he walked to the door. She nodded before he walked out and closed the door silently behind him. Tessa had a quick shower and got dressed into her usual attire, before straightening her hair so is was dead-straight, and tying it up into a high ponytail. When she got to the Music room she found Jess seated on the lid of the sleek black grand piano, swinging his legs. "Oi!" Tessa said, and shoved him off. He laughed. "Are you alright with going to Paris today?" he asked. "Je ne sais pas. Mais Ce que je sais, c'est que je veux aller chercher ma mère." Tessa said. Jess smiled. "I do know what that means." He said. Tessa laughed. "Eh bien, il doit y avoir une partie du cerveau sous votre crâne!" Tessa giggled. "Vous êtes si méchant! Je neSui's pas complètement stupide, vous savez!" Jess laughed. "Êtes-vous sûr?" Tessa said. Jess laughed. "Yes." He answered. They walked down to breakfast, before meeting Lauren, Sophie, Megan, and Dan in the library. They had created a Portal. Megan and Dan went through first, followed by Tessa and Jess. Next came Sophie and Lauren. When they opened their eyes, they found they were in Rue Rene Boyer already. They followed Tessa to the address. Tessa rapped on the door loudly. She quickly took off her pendant and handed it to Jess, who then handed it to Dan, who looped it around the handle of the seraph blade he was holding, and put his hand over it. When Christopher answered the door, his eyes widened with shock. Suddenly, he grabbed Tessa, and threw her inside. She landed on someone, and to her great surprise she saw that she had landed on Alicia. She quickly stood up. There was chaos! Everyone was fighting. Suddenly, Christopher grabbed Tessa. She un-coiled a sliver snake whip she had found in the Training room from around her arm, and lashed at Christopher. He fell to the ground, letting her go, and long cuts appeared along his torso, arms, and legs. All of a sudden, Crystal was in front of him, shielding him as well as checking on him. Dan grabbed her arms and pulled her away. Tears poured down Crystal's face as Jess nodded at Tessa, who then, with a flick of her wrist, secured the whip tightly around his torso. Jess joined Tessa, and he spat something at Christopher, before Tessa yanked on the whip, and cut through the flesh and bone of Christopher's torso. He suddenly screamed, before there was silence. Tessa cleaned the whip of any blood, before wrapping it around her wrist like a cuff bracelet. Megan, Sophie and Lauren took care of Christopher's body, while Jess led Crystal outside, and Tessa and Dan raced over to Alicia. Dan carried Alicia outside, Tessa following behind him, and Megan coming out last. They quickly created another Portal and Portaled back, before leading Crystal to her room and locking all the windows and doors, as well as securing her to her bed. Dan and Megan took Alicia to the Infirmary, and Jess and Tessa were alone in the foyer. "I'm going to go for a walk." Tessa said abruptly, and raced outside. Jess ran after her, before cornering her in the alley. Tessa slid down a wall and turned her head up to the sky, which was starting to rain soft drops of water onto the ground. Within seconds she was soaking, and cold, but she didn't care. Jess pulled her to her feet, and she reluctantly didn't protest. Tessa turned to run, but Jess was quicker, and he grabbed her arms tightly, turning her to face him. "You were amazing with that whip." He said softly. "Just-Just seeing my house again-" Tessa's voice cracked, and tears spilled down her face. Jess kissed her then, gently, and Tessa kissed him back, twining her arms around his neck. He slid his hands into her hair, and the gentle kiss turned into a fierce one. He pulled her toward him, almost as if he wanted to crush her into him. Tessa didn't protest, just kissed him harder. It was pouring down now, but neither of them seemed to notice. They pulled apart, gasping, before looking at each other, and running out of the alley and down the street, and into a café. They ordered coffee, before Tessa laid her head down on the table, pretending to be fast asleep. Jess laughed, and Tessa giggled too. When the waitress brought their coffees, they both slurped them gratefully. Tessa soon saw that the other occupants of the café were Downworlders of some sort, or other Shadowhunters. Tessa set her mug down and looked at the whip for a few moments, before picking up her mug and gulping it down again. Jess laughed. "Sometimes it hard to know who you really are." Jess said. Tessa paused. "I'm me."

It was dark by the time they got back to the Institute. Dan suddenly came in, his face creased with worry. "What's wrong, Dan?" Tessa asked. "Come." He said, and Tessa followed him to the Infirmary. Tessa stood outside the door. "Tessa, come on." Dan said. "No." Tessa said. "Come!" Dan tugged at her sleeve. Tessa didn't move. "No." she said again. "Tessa! What the hell is wrong with you?" Dan said, furious. "I-I can't." Tessa faltered. "When will you think about something else but yourself?" Dan shouted at Tessa. Her eye's welled up with tears. "When will you realize that it's not always all about you!?" Dan yelled. Tessa flinched away from him, ashen. She covered her mouth with her hand, and ran down the corridor. Dan stared helplessly down the corridor, as Jess walked around the corner. "Hey, where'd she go?" He asked. Dan pointed in the direction Tessa had gone. Jess sighed. "Seriously?!" he said, before walking down the corridor after Tessa. He found her in the Drawing Room, sitting on the couch in front of the fire. She looked up as he came in, but said nothing. He sat down next to her. "Oh, Tess." He said. "What happened?" he asked gently. "H-he was angry because I couldn't go into the Infirmary. He said that I only think about myself, and-and-"Tessa's voice cracked, and she turned away from him, and faced the fire. The fire reflected in her Golden eyes, and it looked as though her eyes were alive. "Why couldn't you go in?" Jess asked. "B-because. I don't want to see her like that. All bruised and hurt." Tessa said. Jess put his arm around her and pulled her toward him. "You know he didn't mean it." He said softly. "But he did. You didn't see the look on his face. Hear his voice." Tessa said quietly. "I know him. He's my parabatai. I've known him forever. He wouldn't mean that." Jess said. Tessa kept staring at the blazing fire. He sighed. "He's still your brother." Jess said. It had been the wrong thing to say. Tessa whipped her head around. "No he isn't!" she shouted. "Whether he is my brother through blood or not, he is not my brother!" She jumped up and ran out. Jess sighed. How can you help someone, when they don't want help? He wondered to himself as he watched the door swing violently on its hinges.

The next day, Jess woke up to the sound of the piano drifting through the walls. He knew instantly it was Tessa. No one else can play that good. He thought, as he padded out the door and into the Music room. "Hey." He said. Tessa missed a couple notes, and looked up in surprise. "Hi." She said tonelessly, and continued playing until the end of the song. "Sorry about the way I reacted last night." Tessa said quietly. "You were just trying to help." Jess sat down next to her. "Don't worry about it. What are you doing up so early?" he asked gently."Couldn't sleep." Tessa admitted, and she ran her finger down one of the keys. "Don't blame you." Jess said. "Why do you hate Dan so much?" Jess asked. Tessa sighed. "I don't hate him. He just seems to think of me like I'm some sort of parasite." Tessa answered. Jess sighed. "No he doesn't." "He sure seems to act that way." Tessa shot back. Jess sighed again. "It's not going to get you anywhere." Jess said gently. Tessa rolled her eyes. She went to get up but Jess grabbed her arm and yanked her down again. "Listen. Just listen to me." Jess said. Tessa gasped in pain. Jess's grip was strong. Really strong. He loosened his grip slightly so he wasn't hurting her. "Listen. You need to talk to him." Jess said. Tessa's face went pale. "After last night-" Tessa began, but Jess interrupted her. "By the Angel, Tessa! You're so stubborn." Jess said angrily. Tessa's eye's widened. She managed to yank her arm free and she tore up the stairs, and yanked open the doors, running out into the corridor. The door slammed behind her. Jess glowered after her. She can be so gentle. Thought Jess. But she's still as sharp as a knife. He closed the lid of the piano and walked up the stairs and out of the room.

Dan was on his laptop when there was a loud knock on his door. He looked through the peephole and saw Tessa, her long red hair escaping the two braids she had tied them up in. He opened the door. "What do you want? Having another crisis?" Dan glowered darkly. He went to close the door, and quickly Tessa shot her arm out and stopped the door from closing. "Dan! Just listen for a minute, will you?" Her voice rose a few octaves. "I'll knock you over if I have to." She said. Dan rolled his eyes and stepped aside, letting Tessa past. He turned to her, arm folded, looking furious. "I wanted to explain why I couldn't go in last night." Tessa said breathlessly. Dan's eyebrows shot up. "I don't want to see her looking hurt. It's my fault in the first place." Tessa said. "It wasn't your fault." Dan said. "I mean, like, up to the same day you found me. If I hadn't gotten onto that boat-" "If you hadn't gotten onto that boat, you would never have known Mum, or me. Or Megan, Jess, Sophie, Lauren, Cry-" Dan broke off abruptly. "Exactly. I would have never known Samuel, or Christopher, which means that Crystal would never have betrayed you all." Tessa said. "Maybe, but then I would still be cowering away from danger." Dan said quietly. Tessa stared at him. "I always felt like I was leaving Jess to get bloodied and bruised." Dan said. "But, Tessa, I shouldn't have said what I said last night." Dan said quietly. Tessa sighed. "You had every right to." Tessa said, surprising Dan. "You had every right to be mad at me." Tessa said quietly. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. You're my sister. You didn't deserve that." Dan said. "I did." Tessa said. "I should have gone in with you. If we swapped places, I would have been as mad, if not madder." Tessa said. "Well, if you say so." Dan said. "I do." Tessa said firmly. She walked to the door.

When Dan went into the Infirmary, he was surprised to see Tessa sitting at the end of the bed, her feet up against the footrest, drawing in her sketchpad. She looked up, almost as if sensing he was there, and smiled. Dan grinned and walked over. "Got your confidence back, I gather?" Dan teased. Tessa hit him lightly in the head with her pencil, laughing. A few minutes later, Dan was watching Tessa intently as she sketched. Jess walked in and smiled to himself. Tessa looked up then, and he raised his eyebrows. Tessa caught his look and giggled. Jess joined them by Alicia's bed. "Any progress?" he asked. Tessa sighed. "Not really. In and out of consciousness, not really even opening her eyes." Dan said for Tessa. Jess noticed Tessa bent over her sketchpad a bit more and seemed to fascinate herself drawing a line. Poor Tess. He thought. Only just meeting her mother and then this. Tessa snapped her sketchbook closed. "I'll be back later." She said, and walked out with her sketchbook. Jess rolled his eyes and stayed with Dan for a while, before deciding to leave himself. He decided to go to the library, and found Tessa sitting at a table, staring intently at one of the stained-glass windows, every so often sketching something in her sketchbook. "Hey." He said, and she turned startled, and the sketchbook dropped into her lap. "Hi." Tessa said, placing the Sketchbook back on the table. "What are you drawing?" he asked. Tessa handed him the book. She was drawing the Stained-glass window. "Nice." Jess said. He gave back the sketchbook. "I'm guessing you talked to Dan." Jess said. Tessa nodded slightly, and Jess could tell she didn't want to talk about it. He decided not to question any further. "Hey, Tess?" He asked. "Yes?" she said, looking up at him. He hesitated. "Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you'd grown up with Alicia and Dan?" he asked. Tessa paused, halfway through a line. "Not really." She said carefully, continuing her line. He sat down next to her. He studied her while she drew. Her hair hung partly over her face, like a red curtain. She flicked it back, and Jess could tell she was getting frustrated with her drawing. Her eyes were the luminous gold of the afternoon sun rays, and was partially masked by a shadow of black eyelashes. Her face was pale but tanned, rather slim but not bony, and she had high cheekbones. She then tied her hair up with a messy bun, her pencil in her mouth, before taking the pencil once again and continuing drawing. She sighed, before flipping to a new page. She started drawing the whip that was still wound around her wrist. She gently un-raveled it and then coiled it into a tight circle in front of her on the table, and started drawing it with immense detail. When she finished it, she smiled triumphantly. She slid it over to Jess. "It's really good." Jess said, before sliding it back over to Tessa. She smiled gratefully. Dan came in then. "Hey, are you guy's hungry? I ordered chicken noodles from the takeaway place downtown. Want some?" he said. Tessa's eyes lit up. "I'm starving!" she said, before bounding up the stairs. "In the kitchen." Dan said, laughing, and Tessa grinned before racing out the door. Jess chuckled. "Hey, Jess?" Dan asked. "Yeah?" he asked. "How would you describe Tessa?" he asked. Jess paused. "Feisty." Jess said, before running up the stairs and heading toward the kitchen.

Tessa was leaning against the bench in the kitchen eating noodles from a box when Jess walked in. she was using chopsticks like a pro, he noticed. "Where'd you learn to use chopsticks?" Jess asked, picking up a box of noodles and a pair of chopsticks himself. Tessa cleared her throat. "I lived in Japan for two years when I was 6-7 or so." She answered, before eating again. Dan came in. He grabbed a box, and he also raised his eyebrows at how well Tessa could use chopsticks. They ate in silence, the reverie only broken when they were scraping the boxes with their chopsticks to get all the last bits of noodle.

"Hey." Jess said. Tessa spun around. "You startled me." She said. "Sorry." Jess said, joining Tessa as she walked the Music room. "What are you doing?" he asked. "Don't know." Tessa said, and swung the door open. She went and sat down at a table, staring at the wall in front of her, which was lined with instruments. Jess sat down next to her. Even Jess, who was used to reading Tessa's face, found that it was expressionless. "What are Shadowhunters?" Tessa asked abruptly, turning to Jess. He sighed. "Part-angel, part-mundane." He answered. "What's a mundane?" Tessa asked. "An ordinary human." Jess answered. "Right. So-how are you part angel?" Tessa asked, confused. "The Angel Raziel poured his blood into the Mortal Cup, and those mundane warriors who drank from it became half angel, half human." Jess answered. "We have runes that we use in battle, as well." Jess said, gesturing to the tattoo-like swirls that covered his arms and neck, just like Dan, Sophie, Lauren, Megan, etc."Right." Tessa said. "They look cool. What are they meant to do?" She asked.

The next morning, Tessa decided to go to the library. When she got inside, she saw Jess, lying on a couch reading. He looked up as she came in. "Hey." He said. "Hi." Tessa said. She went up the stairs to another level of bookshelves and picked a book. She came down the stairs and Jess swung his legs over the couch, so she could sit down. "Thanks." She said, and sat down, drawing out her Sketchpad from her bag, along with a pencil and an eraser. She sighed, flipped to the next clean page, and looked at it, before closing it again with a sigh. "Drawing emergency?" Jess teased. Tessa poked her tongue out at him. He laughed. He reached up and grabbed a book from a shelf. "Try drawing one of these." He suggested, gently throwing the book to Tessa, who caught it neatly. She flipped to the first page, and saw that they were runes. She kept flicking through, before staring at a page filled with nearly every single rune. She opened her sketchbook, and drew.

When she finished, she almost gasped. The rune she had drawn wasn't in the book. It was full of swirling lines and patterns. Jess stared, wide-eyed. "Tessa." He said. "What rune is that?" he asked. Tessa looked down at the book. "I-I don't know." Tessa said. Jess took the Sketchpad and stared at the rune. "Come on." He said, standing up. "We've got to show Megan."

They found that Megan had come in and was writing a letter. She looked up as they said her name. "What do you need to show me?" she asked. They walked over to her desk, and Tessa placed the sketchbook on the desk in front of Megan. Her eye's widened. "What rune is that, Tessa? Jess?" she asked. "We don't know." He said. Megan's eyes widened even more. "Get the Gray Book." She said, and Jess went over to a bookshelf before pulling out a book. "But it's not Gray. It's Green." She said. Jess laughed. "It's short for Gramarye. It means Magic, hidden wisdom." He said, handing the book down to Megan. She flipped through it, but couldn't find a rune like the one Tessa had drawn. "It's not in the book." Megan said. "But all runes come from the book!" Jess said. Megan looked at Tessa. "Which rune is it, do you think?" Megan asked. Tessa stared thoughtfully. "Remembrance." She said. "It's definitely a rune." Megan said. "But, does it work?" she asked. Tessa shrugged. Just then, Dan came in. They explained, and Dan offered to take the rune. Jess pulled a metal wand-type thing from his belt, and saw Tessa's look. "A Stele. We use it to apply runes." He said. Tessa nodded slowly. "Do you want to do it?" he asked. Tessa stepped back. Jess's mouth twitched. He looked down at the sketchbook, before slowly drawing the rune onto Dan's arm. Black, jagged lines, like char, came from the tip of the stele, and Tessa watched with fascination. When he was done, she slid the stele back into his pocket. "Can you remember anything when you were, say, three?" Megan asked. Dan answered, and Megan and Jess had surprised looks. "It works." Jess announced. "How did you do that?" Dan asked, amazed, turning to Tessa. Tessa just shrugged. "Try another one." Jess said. "I need a word first, something to create the rune for." Tess said. "How about a broken rune?" Jess said. Three heads swiveled toward him. "A what rune?" Dan asked. "A broken rune. You know, to break things. A rune not applied to us, of course. Just things, like doors if they are locked." Jess explained. "But we have opening runes." Megan said. "But sometimes there is magic holding the doors back. If it was a breaking rune, then it would also break the magic holding it, so it would open, whereas a normal opening rune can't get through magic." Jess said. "He has a point." Tessa said thoughtfully. "Alright." She said, and she sat down, picked up her sketchpad and pencil, and flipped to a clean page. Just like always when she drew, the world fell away, only her, the sketchpad, and the pencil remaining. As she was drawing, she realized she was whispering "Break, Break, Break" under her breath. She drew swirling lines and angles, curves and points. When she finished, she drew back, gasping. Dan, Megan, and Jess stared. "What should we break?" Jess said eagerly. "How about that vase. I always regretted buying it." Megan said, pointing to a green and white vase in the corner. Dan bought it over and Jess traced the rune onto the vase using his stele. Suddenly, cracked appeared in the vase, and it exploded. They ducked fast, and narrowly avoided being hit by shards of glass. Jess smiled sheepishly. "Oops. Maybe we should have ducked quicker." He said, as people pulled small shards out of their hair. "At least it worked." He added. "By the Angel, how can Tessa create new runes?" Megan said. Tessa shrugged.

A few days later, Alicia was able to leave the infirmary, as she had almost completely healed. She announced she was leaving the Clave after she came out. Before she left, she went and found Tessa in her room. She handed her something. It was a crystal stele, and whenever Alicia or Tessa gripped it tightly, it would glow a bright blue light. It had a silver snake wound around it, and Alicia said that the whip that Tessa had found in the library was in fact hers. After Alicia had left, Tessa, Dan, and Jess walked down to the café to order some coffee. They went to a Shadowhunter/Downworlder only café, and then went back to the Institute. Dan and Jess went to their rooms, and Tessa went to the Music room. She sat down and played a piece that sounded very melodic and very peaceful. "Hey." Jess said, walking down the Music room steps. Tessa jumped, startled, before a blush crept up her neck. "You gave me a fright." She said. Jess grinned. "Sorry." He said. He noticed the stele poking out from the top hem of Tessa's thigh-high boots. "Nice stele." He said. "It was Alicia's. She's leaving the Clave, so she gave it to me." Tessa answered. Jess sat down next to Tessa, and played the piece she had just played. Tessa's eyes widened. "You're not the only one who can play Piano." Jess laughed. "I never said I was." Tessa said defensively, before dissolving into giggles. Jess laughed too. "Drawn any more runes?" he asked slyly. Tessa blushed. "I haven't really draw anything lately." She confessed. "Try to draw another rune." Jess asked. Tessa stared at him in astonishment. She pulled her Sketchbook and pencil from her bag and set it down on the piano lid. "What rune should it be?" she asked. "Waking rune?" Jess suggested. Tessa's eyes lit up to a fiery golden flame. She quickly flipped to a page and began drawing. When she finished, she gasped. It was filled with twining and curlicuing angles and swirls. Jess gave her a sly smile. "Who's asleep?"

They walked down to Sophie's room and knocked on the door. There was no answer, so they crept inside. Sophie was lying on her bed, fast asleep. Jess nodded toward her, so Tessa walked over to the side of the bed and drew out her stele. She gently turned Sophie over and touched the tip of the stele to Sophie's shoulder blade. She danced the stele over Sophie's shoulder until the rune was finished, and sat back. Sophie slowly fluttered her eyes open and stared at Jess and Tessa. "What?" Sophie asked. Jess left and got Megan, before showing both Sophie and Megan the rune. The next morning, Jess came in and knocked on the door. "Hey." He said. Tessa smiled sleepily at him and he sat down on the end of Tessa's bed. She sat up, and shielded her eyes from the sun. "Morning." She said. "Why did you wake me so early?" She asked. "Can I ask you something?" Jess asked. "Yeah, sure." Tessa asked. "What do you think of all this?" Jess asked. Tessa paused. "I don't know." She said slowly. "It's confusing, I guess. But that's to be expected." She laughed. "But it's also very calming at the same time, in a way." She said. "Fair enough." Jess answered. "Why?" Tessa asked, puzzled. "Just curious." Jess said before going out the door. Tessa stared after him.

After Breakfast, Tessa went and combed her hair into a high ponytail before going up to the training room. She had a dagger in her fist when Dan came in. She flung it at him, without realizing who it was, and pinned the sleeve of his shirt to the wall. "Sorry." Tessa cringed, and walked over, before plucking the dagger out of the wall. "It's fine." Dan said. After a few hours, Tessa decided to stop and go have a cool shower, before maybe walking town to the water for a swim in the afternoon. "Hey Tessa?" Dan asked. Tessa turned around, halfway to the door. "How would you describe Jess?" Tessa paused. "Calm." She answered, before leaving the room, not noticing Dan's look of puzzlement as she left. She was on her way to her room when Jess caught up to her. "What are you doing?" Jess asked. "I'm going to go have a cool shower, then I'm going to go for a swim at the beach, I think." She answered. "Can I join you for your swim?" Jess asked. "Sure." Tessa said. "What about Sophie or Dan?" Jess asked Tessa rolled her eyes, although she was smiling as she did so. "Sure. Go invite them while I have a shower." She said, and went into her room.

A short while later, Tessa was wearing her black swimsuit underneath a pair of peach high-waisted shorts and a black top with shredding at the back, plus an ankle-version of her usual black velvet stilettos, when Sophie knocked and walked in. "Wow. You look nice." Sophie said. "You sound surprised." Tessa laughed. They walked out and met Dan and Jess by the door. "Wow, Tess. You don't usually wear color!" Dan said. Tessa laughed. "I prefer darker colors, but I don't mind color." She said, gesturing to her Scarlet-red hair. Dan shrugged. "Fair point." He said.

When they got there, they shaded their eyes with their hands. It was very bright, and the sun was reflecting off of the water and the sand. They ducked behind the changing rooms block and quickly drew their stele's from the bottoms of their beach bags, before glamouring themselves so no one would see their runes. Tessa didn't have to, but she glamoured them because it's kind of hard to glamour yourself. When they were finished, they put on tons of sunscreen, before heading down onto the sand. They kicked off their shoes and carried them as they walked along the soft sand down to a spare area around the middle. They put down a big blanket before lying down. Sophie pulled out a few chips of strawberries and they all delved into them like hawks. Once they had been out there for a while, Dan and Jess ran into the water, while Tessa and Sophie stayed on land and tanned themselves for a bit, before jumping in to join the two boys, who were splashing each other. Sophie hauled water at Dan, while Tessa chucked water at Jess. Soon enough, Sophie, Dan, Jess, and Tessa were having a ginormous water fight, giggling, screeching, and laughing. Tessa pushed Dan, and he splashed into the water. "Hey!" He yelled, Tessa giggling uncontrollably, and chased her around in the water, before she splashed water in his face, and darted away, laughing. It was Jess who pushed Tessa in eventually, and she tumbled in. She kicked strongly, lying low under the water, before grabbing Jess's leg and pulling him down as well. Once they surfaced, they were laughing. "What was that for?" he mock-scowled. Tessa laughed. "Revenge. You pushed me in in the first place!" She giggled. They crept over to Sophie, and pushed her in. She screeched. "Hey!" she said, and chased after them. A little while later, they walked back onto the beach, laughing. They collapsed onto the blanket and dried themselves with towels. "That was the most fun I've had in ages!" Jess said. "I have to agree." Tessa said. Dan and Sophie also nodded in agreement. Tessa flicked her fringe out of her eyes. The sun was starting to set, and the crowd had thinned out, although there were still quite a few people there. Dan and Sophie went to grab fish and chips to eat, while Tessa was toweling her hair dry. "Good idea to come here." Jess said. Tessa smiled. "I always have loved the beach since I was a kid." She answered. "And, it was seriously hot today." Tessa added. Jess nodded in agreement."Although, Paris beaches beat New York beaches any day." Tessa giggled. Jess laughed. "What do you like so much about the beach?" Jess asked. Tessa paused. "The relaxing feeling." She finally answered. "You always let go of all your worries, unless your worry is something from the beach." She laughed. "Do you surf?" Tessa asked. Jess shook his head. Tessa's eyes widened. "Have you ever surfed?" she asked Jess shook his head again. "Seriously?" Tessa asked. Just then, Dan and Sophie came back with the fish and chips. They ate hungrily. "Hey, do you want to come back tomorrow?" Tessa asked. "I could teach you guys how to surf." Tessa said. They all nodded. "Cool. We can hire a board. You guys have rash shirts, right?" Tessa asked. They all nodded again. "Cool."

The next day, they wore Rash shirts and board shorts as they walked. Tessa hired them all a board each and they paddled out into the deeper water. Jess, Dan, and Sophie stayed there while Tessa paddled a bit further out, before turning her board around. She gave them a thumbs up just before a wave came in. Tessa jumped up and rode the wave back into shore, before paddling back out to Jess, Dan and Sophie. She grinned at their expressions. "I can do a lot of things." She answered their faces, before attending to the looming duty of teaching them how to surf.

That evening, Tessa didn't appear for dinner. Afterwards, Jess found her in the Music room, drawing. "Hey." He said, and Tessa's pencil slid across the page, coming to a rest in her lap. She turned around, startled. "Hi." She replied, digging her eraser out of her bag. She erased the line and continued drawing. She was drawing a parrot. "Nice drawing." Jess said. "Thanks." She answered, finishing off the wing. She flipped the book closed. "Why didn't you come down for dinner?" Jess asked, sitting down beside Tessa on the couch. "I didn't realize how late it was." Tessa admitted, glancing at her watch. "Fair enough." Jess smiled. "Aren't you tired?" he asked gently. Tessa shook her head. "Not really." She answered. "You're pretty full of energy, then." Jess said. Tessa nodded. "I just have lots of coffee." Tessa laughed. Jess chuckled. "Here." He passed her a block of chocolate. She smiled. "Thanks." She said, digging in. "I stole it from the kitchen." Jess whispered. Tessa giggled. "I won't tell anyone." She said. After they finished the chocolate, Tessa stood up and stretched backward into a bridge. Jess gawped at her. "By the Angel, Tessa!" he said in amazement. She straightened up before grinning. She bent back and did a few flips, including one over the couch. Jess looked on, his eyes wide. "I used to do gymnastics." Tessa answered his look. "Wow." Jess said. Just then, Dan came in. he looked puzzled. Jess quickly stuffed the chocolate wrapper under a cushion. "Why are you standing, Tessa?" he asked. "Because I'm allowed to." Tessa poked her tongue out at him, before doing more flips. Dan's eyes widened. Tessa laughed. She picked up her sketchbook and bag, and went out the door. Dan let out a low whistle. "She's very energetic." He commented. Jess shrugged. "True. Apparently she gets her kick from caffeine." He laughed. Dan laughed too. "Maybe we should all have more caffeine." He joked. "Good idea. But, then again, I don't really want to be flipping over a couch, mind you." Jess said. Dan turned to him. "She did that?" he asked in amazement. Jess nodded. "Wow." Dan said.

The next morning, Tessa got dressed into a dark-blue, floaty dress, made of chiffon, which was down to the floor. It was one shouldered and had a wide black belt around her torso. She put on a pair of her now-trademark thigh-high black velvet stilettos, before click-clacking down the corridor to the Music room. She entered silently and sat down at the Piano, gently lifting the lid open. She saw images of a music score behind her eyelids, and so she looked down at the Piano and played the soft, melodic piece.

Jess woke up to the soft sound of the piano drifting through the walls. Tessa. He sighed to himself. It's unfair. He thought. She's good at everything! He quickly dressed before walking next door into the Music room, and stood at the door, listening silently. "Hey." He said, padding down the stairs. He was barefoot, and the first thing he noticed was how cold the concrete was. He saw her tense for a moment before she relaxed. "Hi." She said, continuing with her piece. "You're up early." Jess said, sitting beside Tessa as she played. She quickly glanced at him sideways while she was playing, before returning her attention back to the black-and-white piano keys. "I am most of the time." She smiled, and finished the piece, before softly closing the lid and leaning her elbow against it. "I noticed." Jess laughed. "I just don't get how you live off so little sleep." Tessa shrugged. "I don't know the answer to that either, to be perfectly honest. I've always gone to sleep late and woken early, ever since I was a little kid." She said. Jess looked at her, before his eyes widened. "You're wearing a dress! And it's not black!" he said. Tessa couldn't help but laugh. "I don't always wear black. I do enjoy wearing color sometimes, you know!" she said, still laughing. Jess laughed. "But." Jess said. "You have to admit, you do most of the time!" he said. Tessa shrugged. "True." She grinned. Dan walked in. "Was that you, Tess, playing the piano?" he asked. Tessa grinned. "Who else?" she laughed. Dan grinned. "Fair point." He said, walking down the stairs and leaning on the piano. "Why are you up so early?" he asked. Tessa laughed. "I've already answered that question." She said. Jess explained the answer. "Fair enough." Dan smiled. Dan then talked with Jess while Tessa studied him. He had smoky-black hair, down to around his ears. He was pale but slightly tanned like Tessa, and they both had high cheekbones. Once Dan and Jess finished their conversation, Dan left the room. "Hey Tessa?" Jess asked. "Yeah?" she replied, before opening the lid again. "What is your natural hair color?" He asked. Tessa paused. "Black." She answered. "It made me look really pale, so I dyed it." She added. "Why?" Jess shrugged. "I was just curious, seeing as Dan has black hair I wondered if it was the same." Tessa smiled. "Fair answer." She said, before playing the first notes of Change your Life, gently stroking the keys. "Keep Playing." Jess said curiously when she stopped. "And sing it." Tessa looked up in surprise. "How do you know I sing?" she asked. Jess shrugged. "You can do everything else." Tessa laughed at that. She played the notes again before she continued playing until the end, singing as well. "Wow. You're really good!" Jess said in awe. Tessa blushed, looking down at the keys. "Thanks." She said. "What do you plan on doing today?" Jess asked. "I'm going to the hairdressers." Tessa answered. "I'm dying my hair black again, and I might get the tips done in a different color." "But doesn't it make you look pale?" Jess asked, confused. Tessa laughed. "Yes, but at least I have a sort-of tan now. Before my skin was milky-white, so I looked as white as paper with black hair. Anyway, I'm also getting my extensions out." She said. "Really?" Jess asked. Tessa nodded. "Without them my hair is to the bottom of my shoulder blades." She said. "It doesn't matter, not really." Jess said. Tessa laughed. "I wonder if you all will even recognize me!" she said, smiling, shooting Jess a sideways glance. Jess laughed. They walked up the steps and into the corridor.

Sometime in the afternoon, Tessa came back from the hairdressers. As she was walking down the corridor, she got an idea. She went to Jess's door and knocked lightly. "Come in." Jess called, and Tessa went in silently. Jess was sitting on the bed reading a book. His eyes widened as he saw Tessa's hair."Wow." He said finally. Tessa laughed. She sat down on the bed. "What do you think?" she asked. Jess tugged on a lock of her hair. "You look nice." He said. "Thank you." Tessa said. "What are you reading?" she asked, picking up the now-discarded book and looking at the cover. 'Demonology' was written in the cover with a Pentagram below it. Tessa laughed. "I should have guessed." She said. Jess laughed, letting go of Tessa's hair. "You look different." He said. Tessa laughed. "Well, that was the main idea!" she said giggling. Jess laughed. "I suppose so." He answered, flopping back. Tessa giggled. "You look like you are trying to make a snow angel." She said Jess grinned, before flapping his arms and legs up and down. Tessa laughed. "Come with me." Jess said, before getting up and going out the door. Tessa, puzzled, went after him.

"Where are we going?" Tessa asked as she and Jess walked down the corridor toward the front door. They stepped outside and walked down the path. "I don't actually know." Jess said. They both laughed. They walked around New York for a while before they found themselves walking down by the East River. Tessa shivered. Although she had changed into mostly her usual ensemble, she was wearing a one-sleeved top, and the sleeve wasn't very long, so she was freezing. "Are you cold?" Jess asked. "Aren't you?" Jess shook his head. "Here." He handed her his jacket. "Thanks." Tessa said gratefully, shrugging the jacket on. They went into a café and were grateful for the shelter from the wind. It was a bitter wind coming off of the river, and it was getting late, so it was only getting even colder. They ordered hot mugs of coffee before they sat down at a window booth, and they stared outside at the miserable weather. "Tessa." Jess said quietly. She turned to him. "Yeah?" she asked. "How are you so resilient?" He asked. Tessa stared at him incredulously. "Pardon?" she asked. "How are you so resilient?" Jess repeated. "After Samuel, Luke, Christopher, demon attacks. I know you have your pendant, but how do you manage to pull yourself through?" Tessa paused. "Why?" she asked. "I'm just wondering." He said in response. Tessa stared out the window thoughtfully. "I don't know." She said at last. "How could I?" she said. "Well, you seem to get through a lot." There was an edge to Jess's voice. "What is this about?" she asked Jess sharply. "What makes you think it's about anything?" he asked. "Well, they fact that you seem determined not to believe me is pretty much a dead give-away." She said sarcastically. Jess silenced her with a look. "How are you able to create new runes?" Jess asked. The edge in his voice as sharp as a razor blade. "How the hell would I know?" Tessa was furious. "Why don't you believe me?!" she said. "Because I don't know if I can." Jess said. Tessa had had enough. She got up abruptly, and grabbed Jess's wrist. She pulled him after her through the doors and into an alley. It was raining now, and it was getting dark. "What the hell is going on?!" Tessa exploded. "Tessa shut up!" Jess yelled. Tessa stepped back, nearly tripping over a rubbish bin. Her eyes were wide. "Tessa!" he said as she spun on her heel and went to walk away. He grabbed her wrist, turning her to face him. "Why can't you trust me?!" Tessa cried. Her eyes were welled up with tears. "And why the hell would it matter if I knew how I could create new runes or not?!" she shouted. "Because if you do know how, you will need to be questioned by the Clave, and tried by the sword!" Jess shouted. "I'm trying to help you!" he said. "Well you're doing an absolutely, spectacularly, goddamned horrible job!" Tessa screamed, redoubling her efforts to twist out of Jess's grasp. He only tightened his grip. "Tessa!" Jess said. Tessa turned her gaze toward Jess. "I'm sorry!" he said. "But right now I can't afford to trust you!" "Why the freaking hell not?!" Tessa's eyes were blazing, and a flame of anger was licking through her. "Because mum is making me do this." Jess said. The tone of his voice froze Tessa in place. "Look." Jess sighed. "The Clave aren't very happy with mum at the moment. With all that's been happening, especially around you, and then with these rune powers you have-" Jess let the sentence hang in the air, unfinished. "Tessa was staring at him incredulously. "Here's two things we have in common." Jess said. "One, we grew up believing our last name was Frayne. Two, we had no idea afterwards who our parents were. The only difference is that the person I have for a father was evil." Jess said. Tessa stared. "I want to trust you, Tess. And, technically, I do." Jess sighed. "But with all these questions I'm not really allowed to. I do trust you, really, but mum isn't happy with it, to say the least." Tessa was silent for a moment. "Why is the Clave being so hard on her?" Tessa asked. "Samuel, Luke, Christopher, they're all dead!" Tessa said. Jess gave her a thin smile. "That's the thing. We now believe that Christopher was obeying someone as well. And with them all dead we don't have a chance of finding out anything." "How is that her fault?" Tessa said. "I killed one of them. And you killed the other two! It wasn't her who killed them. So, off all the people, the Clave should be annoyed at us, not your mum." Tessa said. Jess sighed. "It's not that simple." "-But." Tessa carried on. "Why is the Clave so outraged at my rune powers?" She asked. "And why the freaking hell do they care?! It's hardly like I'm going to create a rune to harm anyone!" Jess laughed. "That's not their worry. Their question is why you can create these new runes." "And why the freaking hell would they believe that I knew the answer to that?" Tessa demanded. "It's hardly like I chose these powers." Rain was dripping off of them, their clothes were sticking to Jess and Tessa like a second skin. "Trust me Tessa." Jess said in a low voice. "Trust you about what?" Tessa interrupted. "I'm trying to help." Tessa sighed. "I know that now." She said. "Look. I will tell you anything I find out." Jess said. "But mum has said that the Clave have asked to have a meeting with you tomorrow." Tessa stared at him in shock. "I-" Tessa didn't finish her sentence, as Jess kissed her with such a force she nearly gasped, only she kissed him back instead. Tessa went back against the wall, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Why-" Tessa began, but was interrupted by Jess. "I don't know." He said. "I don't know and I don't care." Tessa felt herself smile, despite everything, against his mouth.

The next morning Tessa woke up early. She slid into her usual attire before walking down the corridor to the Training room, taking her sketchbook with her. She spent a couple hours drawing, before she decided to throw some daggers. She had one in her fist when the door opened and Dan came in. she pretended she didn't know he was there, and threw the dagger anyway. "Hey Tessa." Dan said. "Hey." She said, before reaching for another dagger. Dan came over and took the dagger out of her hand. "We need to go. The Clave have asked for a meeting with you." Dan and Tessa walked down the corridor to the library door.

When Tessa got to her room that night, she gladly collapse onto the bed, exhausted. Then there was a knock on the door. She sighed. If only I could get some peace and quiet for once. She thought as she went and opened the door. "Hey." Jess said. Tessa smiled sleepily. "Hi." She said. She let him come in, falling back to collapse onto the bed again. Jess laughed, Tessa soon joining in."How are you feeling?" Jess asked. Tessa stared at him. "Exhausted!" she laughed, burying her head into her pillow. She heard Jess laugh and sit down on the bed. "You're not the only one." Jess said. Tessa spun around so she was lying on her back. She could see what Jess meant. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he looked as pale as Tessa. "True." Tessa sighed. "How's the investigation about Crystal going?" she asked. "Good, we hope. We believe Crystal may have some answers as to why these people want your pendant specifically, as well as maybe another name we can try to hunt down." Jess gave a small smile. "But nothing conclusive yet." "What do you think they'll do to her when they are finished with her?" Tessa said thoughtfully. Jess was silent for a moment. "I don't know." Tessa could tell he was lying, but didn't question it any further. Tessa yawned. "Want some coffee?" Jess asked, handing her a mug of hot caffeine. Tessa slurped it gratefully, before smiling at Jess from behind her mug as a way to say thanks. Jess smiled. "Well, coffee does help take away the feeling of collapsing in a heap on the floor." He said. Tessa giggled. "True. Trust me, of all people I should know." She said, before slurping down some more. "Why does caffeine have that effect?" Jess mused. "Wait here." Tessa said, setting down her mug, and disappearing out the door. When she came back, she was holding her phone, in its ruby-encrusted, black, iPhone case. "Sorry." Tessa blushed. "I just remembered I left this in the Training room." Jess laughed. "It's fine." He pulled a rock out of his pocket. "Here." Tessa took the stone. It was smooth, and almost translucent. "Um, what is it?" Tessa asked. Then, the stone blazed up with a blinding white light, and Tessa almost fell backwards with the brightness of the light. Jess laughed. "It's a Witchlight." He explained. "Every Shadowhunter should have one." "Okay." Tessa replied, slipping the stone into the back pocket of her jeans. They walked down to the library and sat down on the couch, grabbing a couple books as they went. Suddenly, Megan came in. She looked relieved to see them. "Oh, thank goodness." She said. "What is it?" Jess asked. "Sophie's gone. She was on patrol near a vampire lair and she went out of contact. We have had reports from an informant from a member of the clan that some members brought in a girl." Megan said quickly. Jess jumped up. "We'll go and find her." Jess said. "No. Absolutely not." Megan said firmly. "Not just me!" Jess laughed. "Tessa and Dan will come." "No. You are not taking Tessa." "I have my whip." Tessa said rising to her feet. Megan hesitated. "Fine. But you are both taking Dan with you." She said. Jess nodded. Tessa and Jess went and found Dan in his room, before Dan and Jess led Tessa down beneath the ground and into a weapons room. Jess handed Tessa a few seraph blades, and some daggers, while Dan and Jess got ready. They raced back upstairs before leaving the doors. "Where is the closest Vamp nest to Sophie's patrol?" Jess asked Dan. "The old Hotel Aroma." Dan answered, and they walked to the Hotel. "Nice place for a group of Bloodsuckers." Tessa muttered. Jess laughed. They went inside a door and took out their Witchlight's, not noticing the vampires watching them from above with amusement. They went up some stairs and found Sophie's stele. They went further up and were led to a small room. Tessa was looking through cracks in a wall when she gasped. "She's here!" she cried. Jess and Dan looked through, seeing exactly what Tessa had seen. Up above them was Sophie, hanging up above the former elevator shaft tied with chains and ropes. The arrow on the dial said 10, so they went up to the tenth floor and found Sophie at their laid a plank over the shaft and Tessa gingerly crossed the plank until she reached Sophie. "She's alive!" Tessa cried, and Dan and Jess joined her in un-chaining Sophie. Sophie quickly regained consciousness. As they were walking downstairs, with Sophie leaning on Tessa, they were cut off by a small group of Vampires. They turned around, and found behind them blocked off, too. "In here!" Dan called, and Dan, Jess, Tessa, and Sophie backed into a Dining room, the Vampires following them. Tessa turned, and saw Vampires behind them as well. "Jess!" she called, and he turned and went pale. Sophie grabbed one of Tessa's seraph blades, and Tessa unfurled her whip from her wrist. Suddenly, the battle was on.

Tessa couldn't believe how adrenaline-pumping battle really was. Just after slicing two vampires apart with her whip, she saw Jess struggling with a bulky vampire who had his arms wrapped around Jess's throat. She went up to the vampire from behind and, with a flick of her wrist, secured her whip around thevampire's throat and yanked it, decapitating it. Jess turned around surprise. She raised her eyebrows and grinned. Then, a giant vampire loomed over them. Suddenly, Sophie was in between the Vampire and Jess and Tessa, a glowing seraph blade in her hand. She sliced at the vampire, and it fell in to two, turning to ashes. When most of them had been destroyed, Sophie, Dan, Jess, and Tessa raced to the roof. As Tessa was running, two vampires went after her. She flicked her whip up to the ceiling and onto a giant chandelier, waiting for the vampires to get close, before yanking the chandelier down onto the vampires. They reached the roof and looked out at the sunrise.

When they arrived back at the Institute, they all went immediately to have a shower, while Lauren attended to Sophie. Tessa quickly got dressed into gold jeans, and a red halter neck top before heading to the infirmary to see Sophie. Sophie was lying on a bed, reading a book when Tessa walked in. Sophie looked up from her book, and smiled, before setting the book down. "Hey, Tess." Sophie said. "Hi, Soph. How are you feeling?" Tessa sat down on the bed. "Like I'll never get the asphalt out of my skin." Sophie laughed. Tessa giggled. Just then, Jess came in. "Hey, Sophie, Tess." He said, sitting down in a chair on the other side of the bed. Sophie and Jess talked for a while, and Tessa took the opportunity to leave and go to the Music room.

Tessa was halfway through the Tango Habanera when Jess walked in. He was constantly amazed at Tessa's skills. Jess was standing right in front of Tessa before she noticed he was there. She jumped in surprise, before blushing a dark rhubarb. Jess laughed, tugging on a lock of Tessa's black locks. "Your hair looks better Crimson." Jess said abruptly. "Really?" Tessa asked. "Really." Jess confirmed, before swinging over the piano and slowly lowering himself down next to Tessa. "I was thinking of dying it." Tessa thought aloud, before finishing the Tango Habanera and turning to face Jess. "Don't you need to sleep?" Asked Jess gently. Tessa shook her head slightly. Jess paused, before laughing softly. "This is the most colour you've ever worn." He said. Tessa glanced at the red and gold. "Yeah. I don't really suit colour." She said. Jess stared at her. "Yeah, you do." He said. Tessa smiled. It was a rare smile that lit up her entire face, and lit her blazing eyes to an almost blinding golden flame. "Really?" She asked. Jess grinned and tugged on Tessa's hair. "Really." He confirmed. "Thanks." Tessa said. She stood up. She walked to the door, and walked out into the corridor. She was halfway to her room when she frowned and turned back the way she had came. Her prediction had been correct. The library door was still open. Still frowning, she walked into her room and soundlessly shut the door, picking up a book from her bedside. When Jess walked in, she smiled. "Hey, Shadow." She laughed. Jess grinned, and flopped down onto the bed beside Tessa. Tessa turned her gaze back to the page and frowned, before laughing and placing the book gently on the floor. "I want to read, but I'm too exhausted!" Jess smiled. "I could read to you if you like." Tessa grinned, and reached over and plucked a book from the bedside table. "I like." She confirmed. Jess smiled and picked up _David Copperfield_. When Megan walked to Tessa's door and peered in, she smiled to herself. Tessa was lying on her side, facing Jess, her now-redyed-red hair splayed across the pillow, still slightly damp and slightly bleeding the dye. Jess was lying facing Tessa, reading from a book. Megan silently closed the door behind her, and Jess's soft voice followed her back to the library. "..._And cannot watch over him, if that is not too bold a thing to say, as closely as I would. But if any fraud or treachery is practising against him, I hope that simple love and truth will be strong in the end. I hope that real love and truth are stronger in the end than any evil or misfortune in the world..._"

When Jess finished the book, Tessa smiled. "You make a good narrator." She said. Jess laughed. "Thank you!" Jess brushed Tessa's hair away from her face. "Get some sleep." He whispered. Tessa nodded slightly. Soon, Tessa drifted off to sleep, Jess lying beside her.


End file.
